A Little Help
by A Scribbler
Summary: The Size Altering Gems have vanished and the twins go to investigate. But on their travels they end up saving a somewhat 'small' character from the gnomes and forced to take her in. But is she a victim of the gems, or is she one of the creatures not to be trusted? Who has the gems? Will the twins ever get some peace and quiet? Ha, no! Every chapter has a code to solve at the end!
1. Investigations

**A/N:**

**I do not own Gravity Falls, Disney does!**

**Okay, just a few notes I'd like you to read. Yes there will be an OC coming soon but I promise she is not a Mary-Sue, I've got one in a different series so I know what to avoid. I'll try my best in this story to make it interesting, funny and exciting and if anyone had any ideas, feel free to tell me.**

**Also, if you haven't seen the episode 'Little Dipper' I suggest you look it up first. **

**And, at the end of each chapter there will be a code to decipher which will give a hint to the next chapter. It will be written in the Atbash Cipher, so backwards alphabet like the ones after the 'Dipper vs Manliness' episode. A=Z, E=V etc…**

**So, enjoy and please review! XD**

Dipper sat on his bed in the attic bedroom from the Mystery Shack, knees bent so that the book he was reading, the 3 journal naturally, rested comfortably on his legs. Right now he was enjoying how calm the past few days had been, the peacefulness of his room and how Grunkle Stan hadn't called on him to help around the Shack much. His eyes were set in concentration as they scanned over the words and symbols before him. A flicker of wonder ignited in his mind as he came across a new series of creatures. But just how long would it be before he had to face them? Well for now, that wasn't an issue. For now it was about enjoying the peace and quiet…

"Dipper! Dipper, guess what? Dipper!"

So much for that. The boy didn't even glance up from his book as his twin sister started jumping excitably on the foot of his bed, "They're restocking Smile-Dip in stores again?"

Mabel felt her stomach churn at the memory of her last encounter with the sugary evil, "Ugh… so shiny…" she shook herself, "No! I knew you wouldn't guess; want another try?"

"Not really, go ahead."

"Boo…" She looked a little disappointed but carried on anyway, "You know those gem thingies that makes people grow and shrink?"

How could he forget? For the, lets see… fourth or fifth time in his life he was sure that Gideon was going to get his revenge. It had been a miracle that he'd managed to get him and Mabel to put a stop to Gideon and get back to normal size before anything too bad happened. The very memory of being grasped in that little twerps hand made him shudder in disgust. Good thing they smashed that gem.

"Yeah I think I remember…" he muttered with a hint of sarcasm.

"Well they're all gone!"

At that, Dipper's head snapped upwards, "Gone? What'd you mean gone?"

"As in _gone_, silly, like they're not there anymore. The whole of that area of the woods is cut off for construction or something." Suddenly her eyes widened and she clasped her palms to her cheeks, "Do you think they're building the set for a new vampire movie? Maybe I can get a role as an extra and meet a real vampire this time!"

Dipper wasn't really listening to his sister's vampire obsession; he was more worried about where those gems were. He of all people knew how dangerous they were when in the wrong hands. And if anyone figured out what they could do then that could be bad news for the whole town! But then again, people might just believe him about the weird and wonderful things that lived within the woods if they did discover them. But was it worth it? Depends on who found them. But then again, maybe he was just worrying too much. After all, Gideon never found out where they were located and if they were out of sight then surely that meant out of mind. Not quite. Dipper figured he could phrase it anyway he wanted, he was still getting a little panicked about it.

"Wait, Mabel how did you find out about this?"

"Soos told me; he passed the place on his way to work."

Dipper closed the book he was reading, the journal he'd found only weeks ago, and placed it in the inside pocket of his jacket, "I'm going to check it out, I don't like this."

She scoffed, "You don't like _anything_ around here!"

"That's not true; I like… well I like…"

Mabel smirked knowingly and folded her arms in triumph, "Just as I thought."

He rolled his eyes and wanted to get back on topic, "Are you coming with?"

"Definitely! I wonder if they'll have a chocolate fountain at the movie set buffet? With marshmallows!"

Dipper shook his head as his twin rushed from the room, "Marshmallows… yeah lets go with that…"

* * *

As always, the air was warm and the shade from the trees was comforting. The two had walked through these woodlands countless times and they were still just about managing to get the hang of all the twists and turns. The first thing they passed was the area where Dipper had first come across the journal, they could tell by the half-finished directions that were nailed to the trees that Dipper had been told to display. Thinking about it, it seemed so long ago when in reality it had only been a few weeks. Strange how much had changed in such a short space of time.

Strange, Dipper figured, was just the first way to describe it. Or rather the first word of many that Dipper would describe it. Mabel on the other hand didn't like to take much notice to how much time passed from one event to the other, it made it seem too serious. She preferred to just focus on the events. That way it was more fun and you didn't get too bored in-between. As she skipped merrily along the dirt trail just ahead of her brother she grinned upwards at a birds nest, thinking about the baby birds that might live there. Awe, cute! She giggled and returned to the present.

"Hey, Dipper, you do know where we're going, right?"

"It amazes me that you don't have more faith in me."

"Oh I have faith in you; I just don't think you know where we're going."

At that he slumped his shoulders, "I know exactly where we are."

"Then why're you checking that book?"

Hurrying his actions, he glanced at a page and stuffed it back into his jacket, "I'm just double checking something that… _isn't_ direction based."

"You keep telling yourself that, brother." She sniggered.

"I will, and for your information we're getting close to where the Gnomes live so stay close. The last thing we need is you getting kidnapped for matri-gnomy again."

Mabel tilted her head, "I wonder how Jeff is doing; I never did give that engagement ring back… Ah well, finders keepers!"

Dipper gave a half smile at that, but was still refusing to keep his eyes steady, constantly darting them around to keep watch for anything that might be lurking out of sight. The book had told him not to trust anyone and considering the forest seemed more alive than most, he counted that on his list of things not to trust. But he figured as soon as he found the size altering gems, or lack there of, he'd be able to get home again and, with any luck, back to some quiet. Or more likely, start hunting them down and making sure they were in safe hands. He huffed in spite of himself. Yeah, he thought, that sounds more like me…

They continued walking deeper into the woods and the pair started to notice some leftover barriers strewn here and there among the shrubbery. People had been here. Dipper was unsure if this reassured or worried him. Mabel however was keeping her eyes peeled and ears pricked for any signs of a movie set or something just as fun. Excitement pumped through her, if it was a movie set, please let it be a vampire movie! However, the mixture of childlike wonder and serious anxiety was cancelled out by a sudden cry from further among the trees. The girlish tone and desperation stopped them dead in their tracks.

"Help! Please, anyone!"

Dipper practically jumped a foot in the air, "I'm coming Mabel!"

Just as he turned around, he smacked straight into his twin who, after rubbing her now sore forehead, looked confused, "I'm right here. Wait, was I in danger? Wow that was a record breaking rescue!" she grabbed his wrist and lifted it above his head in victory, "Yay Dipper!"

Dipper pulled away, just as confused and sore headed, "Wait, if that wasn't you then…"

"Help!"

The twins exchanged a nervous glance. Mabel thumbed over her shoulder towards the cry, "Wanna see if you can break your record?"

He scowled, but shook it off knowing that there wasn't time, "Sounds like a plan."

**QVUU ZMW HSNVYFOLXP IVGFIM ULI Z MVD JFVVM**

**A/N:**

**I love this show and I hope I kept them in character. I deliberately didn't introduce the OC just yet because I wanted to learn how to manage the twins first. The OC is coming up soon and as I've said before, she is NOT a Mary-Sue. I've got my Mary-Sue occupying another series so I know what to avoid here. Again, please review and I hope you liked it, any criticism you have will be noted and I will try my best to improve it you have any hints. The answer to the code will be given at the start of chapter 2… if this goes well of course XD**


	2. Record Breaking Rescue

**A/N:**

**Code Answer: Jeff and Shmebulock return for a new Queen.**

**Thanks so much for the reviews and follows already! Keep 'em coming you awesome people! XD Well onwards Readers!**

"Seriously? Just one time I'd like to go into these woods and not have to run for my life; even now I'm running for someone else's life which only means that my life is going to have to be in need for running for too, or something. Go on, what more could they possibly through at us?"

Mabel arched an eyebrow at her rambling twin as they ran side by side, "Am I meant to be apart of this conversation at some point?"

Not looking up, he swiped some sweat from his brow, "If you want me to appear less crazy then feel free to join in anytime."

She grinned, "Nah, this is fun to watch."

Ignoring that comment, Dipper chose to keep his mouth closed and let his mind do the ranting. What was it this time? And why now? Everything had been so calm around here lately and now it was all going down the drain. First the crystals were missing and now someone was in danger. But what were they in danger of? Dipper was already pulling out the journal in preparation. If it was the undead then whoever called for help would have stayed quiet because they'd be able to run without them following very quickly. Not to mention they'd be closer to a cemetery. Uh, let's see, there weren't any ghosts that he knew of around here and they would only attack if provoked. And Gideon didn't travel this far in the woods for fear of ruining his clothes, and there's the little fact that one look at him would send people into hysterical laughter not screaming for help. Unless he'd fixed that amulet… No that was impossible. Let's see…

"Duck!"

"Huh?" Dipper looked up from the pages to see a low branch heading right for him. He struggled to come to a stop but couldn't manage it in time. Luckily, Mabel reached out and tugged harshly on the back of his jacket, resulting in him falling flat on his back but avoiding a smack in the face. Blinking the daze away he gave a weary thumbs up, "Thanks…"

"Anytime."

The call of distress echoed out again, this time weaker, "Help! Hel… Huh…"

Jumping to his feet, Dipper scanned the area, "Okay, okay; where did that come from?"

"I know!" Mabel announced with a grin, "It came from a person!"

"I mean which direction!"

"Well you didn't say that."

"Mabel!"

"Okay, Mr. Bossy-Pants! Uh…" she started turning in little circles, judging which was the best way to go, "Left!"

"Right."

"Well why ask me if you're just going to do the opposite?"

"I'm not, I'm agreeing with you! I'm saying right to your left and, _agh_, come on!"

Having enough of the confusion, Dipper tugged on the sleeve of her sweater and dragged her to the left. Please let this be the right way, please let this be the right way! Mabel kept an eye out for any other low branches that threatened to attack. Or maybe she was making sure that next time there wasn't something _on_ the branch that would be a worse threat. But for the most part, she was seeing if her choice in direction had been a wise one because if it wasn't she knew she'd never hear the end of it later. Where was that cry coming from? It didn't take a genius to figure out that someone needed help, so did this mean that this was their first rescue mission in the woods together? Thinking about it, she guessed that it was. With an internal punch of victory, she beamed. Mystery Twins to the rescue!

The pair darted through the trees until they came to the top of a steep hill. There was a faint glow from the bottom that blended from blues and purples to whites and pinks. Voices could be heard from the bottom, some vaguely familiar, all rushed and eager. Cautiously, the twins eased their way down the mossy ground one step at a time, taking impatient yet necessary care to find the footholds as not to trip on any of the mushrooms that were dotted here and there. They'd made it this far, the last thing they needed was to stumble and draw attention to themselves. Saving someone wasn't going to that good if they needed saving too. But neither of them needed reminding of how risky this place was. They'd both been here before. This was where the gnomes had brought Mabel the day they'd tried to make her their Queen.

"Maybe it's a sign." Mabel shook her head solemnly, "I should have given the ring back."

"I'm sure you can mail it to them, now _shhh_!"

She poked her tongue out at him as they reached the base of the mound and tiptoed closer to the mouth of a cave where the glow was seeping from. Peeking inside, they recognised the area; the grassy patch, rocks and beams of light, the trees snaking along the rock surface could only belong to one creature that they knew of. And there they were. A crowd of very short men in overalls and red pointed hats, bushy beards taking up most of their faces; were gathered around a stone platform, but what was on the platform was just out of sight. As far as they could see, there wasn't anyone here who could have been the one calling for help.

Dipper elbowed his sister lightly, "Maybe we should get out of here and look somewhere else." He whispered.

Before Mabel could answer, one gnome stood up on the platform and stated speaking over the crowd, gathering their attention. He seemed younger, mainly due to the dark brown colour of his beard compared to the usual grey and silver. Mabel felt a shiver of distain. It was Jeff.

"Gnomes of the forest! Boy, do we have some good news for you!" he announced charismatically, "Now we all know that out last attempt at finding our new Queen didn't exactly go as planned…" he paused for the gnomes to start booing and hissing, making the twins exchange a look of unease, "But fear not! Obviously our strategy of wooing, honesty, romancing and then kidnap was the wrong way to go about this. So, what did we do? We skipped right to the kidnap!"

"Oh man this is bad." Dipper muttered as the audience cheered.

"You're telling me!" Mabel replied, cheeks flushing in anger, "That jerk asks for my hand in marriage and he replaces me just like _that_! He should have at least a year of mourning over his loss before making the moves on another girl!"

Ignoring the urge to face-palm, Dipper edged a little closer so that he could try and get a better view. Jeff continued his speech with a gesture to the side, "And now, introducing your future Queen will be our very own… Uh… Our very own… Ah, look, pal I know we've known each other for years but your name still escapes me, no offence!"

A gruff voice sounded from just out of sight, "Shmebulock!"

"That's the one! Shmebulock with our new Queen, everybody!"

The elderly gnome with a somewhat vacant expression stepped into view, a small and unconscious figure in his arms. The twins felt their eyes widen in surprise. Now gnomes in height came up to somewhere between hips and knees on the twins. This figure seemed human for the most part with olive skin and a wild mop of mousy hair draped over her face; but her size was even smaller than the creatures that held her captive, about four or five inches tall at most. She couldn't be human, she couldn't be. But the gems were missing. Did the gnomes have them and were using them against people? It was possible… But they'd all been taken away for construction, no one knew where. So maybe this girl really was just a forest creature. They really shouldn't get involved, Dipper reasoned, but if he was wrong then an innocent bystander is going to end up in a lot of trouble.

"Shmebulock found this little bachelorette hiding from a couple of humans on the opposite side of the forest. If it wasn't for our, _ahem_, heroism, this little lady would be in a test tube by now. And what better way to thank us then becoming out Queen, am I right?" The crowd cheered again as the figure was lain down on the platform, "Let the ceremony begin!"

Okay, Dipper thought, that ruled out the human possibility. But that didn't explain why the figure was wearing jeans and a white T-shirt not unlike the ones he saw a lot of people wearing. But again, Gnomes wore overalls and hats so that hardly counted for much either, "She's not human, Mabel, we really shouldn't get involved."

"But they're marrying her while she's out cold! I didn't even want to marry them when I was _awake_!"

He gave her a sceptical look, "So what you're going to march in there and -"

"Hey Jerk-face!"

Dipper smacked his hand over his eyes, "Of course she will…"

Before he could stop her, Mabel had jumped from their hiding place and started storming through the crowd towards the centre. Jeff and all of the other gnomes had fallen deadly silent as their ex-fiancé made her presence known. Mabel didn't care. In honesty she was still annoyed after her hopes being trashed in the past and in some way she blamed Jeff for there not being a vampire movie set in progress too. How dare he disappoint her twice in the same summer? And how dare he try and try his tricks on another girl, even if the girl was a bit strange on the eye.

"M-Mabel? Oh, uh, hi! Wow, this is kinda awkward." Jeff muttered, "Uh, well, so nice of you to join us on such a happy occasion! Uh-hehe, water under the bridge and all that?"

"I don't think so, Jeff, I oppose this marriage. I object!" she declared, pumping her fist in the air.

"But we haven't even reached the objections yet…"

"Oh, well in that case; I _pre_-object!" she announced, repeating her movement.

Whispered of outrage, confusion and 'can she do that?' echoed throughout the audience. Jeff cleared his throat, "Well it's too late to take me back Mabel, I know it's hard to get over me but you're going to have to deal with it."

She rolled her eyes at what an egomaniac he was, "I wouldn't want you back if you were the last gnome alive! And even then there'd still be other guys around who weren't gnomes so your chances aren't that good. But here's the thing, Jeff, how're you going to get married if you don't have the ring?"

Jeff paled, "Th-the ring?"

Folding her arms smugly, she nodded, "That's right, I've still got it. Looks like you're going to have to let this girl go too." She softened her expression, "Why not try a gnome dating site or something, I've heard there's a lot of love to be found online."

"Or; we could just force the ring back from you."

"What? I don't have it with me!"

"Gnomes, attack!"

"_Agh_!"

Mabel cried out as the gathering of creatures started swiping with their hands and bearing pointed teeth. Well, she thought, this could have gone better. Pushing her way past them, she sprinted out into the open. Something looped in her arm and hoisted her from the path and into the shadows. A hand clamped over her mouth as she was about to yell in panic. But the familiar eyes and set expression made her pause.

"Well, are you happy now? We've managed to get hunted down by the same bunch of gnomes _twice_ in a matter of weeks!" Dipper snapped, removing his hand.

"I consider that an achievement." She nodded, wiping her mouth, "And look, they're after me now not her. The way it should be… in some sense…"

"So when do you suggest we start running?"

She was about to answer, but found she didn't have one yet. The sound of rampaging creatures was becoming ever louder. The two flattened themselves against the side of the cave as the enemies started flooding out. The paused to scan the area for the intruder. Dipper was starting to panic, any second now they'd find them and without a golf-cart he wasn't sure if they'd get away this time. Suddenly, he foot nudged against something, a large stone, and he had an idea. Picking it up to test its weight, he bit his bottom lip in determination. With all of his strength, he chucked it over the creatures and over to the other side of the pathway. The rock vanished into the trees, clattering along the dirt and rustling over some shrubbery. The noise caused the gnomes to prick up their ears.

"There she goes! Quick, before she escapes with the ring! Again…" Jeff demanded with some reluctance to the thought of a past failure. He hated that he'd forgotten about the ring, but in fairness things had moved along very quickly in the gnomes society and in the excitement of getting a new Queen, some details were forgotten, "Gnomes, charge!"

Taking the bait, they hoard of creatures followed orders and tracked the sounds of the thrown stone in hopes of hunting down their prey. As soon as they were out of sight and earshot, the twins sank down to the ground, gasping for breath to try and stop their hearts hammering so loudly.

"Thanks," Mabel breathed.

"We're even for the branch." He replied with a cocky grin, "Okay, we've had our dose of supernatural for the day, let's head back, we can check out the missing gems tomorrow."

"What about her?" she asked, peering into the lair where the tiny figure was still unconscious.

"It's not human, Mabel, we should leave it alone before it wakes up."

"Oh come on, Dipper, lets at least take a look."

She jumped to her feet and pulled him along with her into the empty cavern. Dipper didn't share his sisters excitement; curiosity, sure, but he'd learnt from experience that if they came across something once in Gravity Falls, chances are you were going to see it again soon. And for all they knew, it could be more dangerous than the gnomes. He wished he had some time to look over the journal, but he knew that if he even tried then Mabel would have something to say about it. She dropped to her knees and peered at the small humanoid with a look of growing awe. Dipper kept a reasonable distance, circling the slate platform quizzically. The unknown creature's shirt was ripped at the back, revealing some of the skin below the neck. He could just make out two little stumps that looked incredibly sore as if recently wounded. Still not quite human, he thought to himself. He made his way back to Mabel by the front of the figure.

"So now what?"

**SXI MZNV TH ILCTV**

**A/N:**

**And so it begins, I hope I kept everyone in character and please keep up the reviews people, I love hearing you all XD So what do you think so far?**


	3. Wake Up Call

**A/N:**

**Code Answer: Her name is Roxie.**

**Getting some positive reviews so far which is always great and thank you all so much XD But for those who aren't reviewing, please do! I love writing this but I need to know that the work is good if I'm going to continue putting so much work into it. You don't train a horse and then send it to the stalls while the race is on and all that jazz XD Thank you!**

Dipper was not happy. Mabel had been completely besotted with mothering the unknown and had insisted on taking it back to the Mystery Shack with them. The only reason he agreed was because Mabel had used blackmail by threatening to tell Wendy that he would go, and had been, far enough to alter a time line to make her like him. And so, he was forced to hand over his cap so that the tiny humanoid could be scooped up and carried safely across the woods, back to the Mystery Shack and into their attic room. Now the unconscious female was laid on their desk and the cap returned to its owner. Dipper had examined it thoroughly for any supernatural traces before wearing it again. Mabel was crouched down and smoothing the mousy hair gently like one would do with a pet hamster.

"Can we keep her?"

"What?" he blinked, "No, we don't know what it is. There could be more of them! We should have just checked the journal or left it alone."

"Well we had to get her out of there, right? She'll be safe here with us."

"But are we safe around _it_?"

Mabel scoffed, "What danger could she be? She's tiny!"

"You said that about a gerbil we brought home once, remember?"

She shuddered, "So many teeth… But, I'm sure this time it's different. Awe, she's adorable!"

"Mabel, shush, you'll wake it!"

"Pfft! Come on, Dipper, she's out colder than Grunkle Stan after he saw the last phone bill."

"And whose fault's that?" Dipper paused and arched an eyebrow at his sister, "How do you spend so much time on the phone anyway?"

Mabel put a hand on her brothers shoulder and smirked knowingly, "Is that really the issue here right now?" she directed her attention back to the tiny figure and prodded her gently, "See, out cold. Bop, Pop, Poke!"

"Mabel don't touch it! You don't know what it is or what it's carrying!" Dipper exclaimed, thinking that this must be a creature from his book, and if that's the case then not to be trusted.

"You worry too much. Hey look, she's moving!" she wagged a finger in his face scolding him, "So you'd better sort your manners out, mister, girls don't like to be called _it_."

As far as Dipper was concerned, this creature was an 'it' until he could find out more. It couldn't be human, the size was one thing; and the part of the woods where the size altering gems were had been sealed off and the crystals taken. So it couldn't have come across them recently. Then there were the two wounds on its back where it had either been cut or something had been pulled off. Dipper felt his fingers itching to flick through the book as a theory slipped behind his eyes. Wings? Extra limbs? This creature could be anything. And he hated not knowing. Mabel on the other hand found it all exciting. After everything they'd come across so far, this was another adventure to add to the list; which only irritated her twin more.

The creature in question was in fact starting to stir. She groaned, wincing through shut eyes. The throbbing pain in her head, neck and spine was almost unbearable, made worse that she was laying on her back. With some effort, she pushed herself onto her front and heaved backwards so that she was kneeling. Slowly, she braved herself to open her eyes and stared down at the wooden surface beneath her. Where was she? Looking around, she saw some white sheets that looked like paper and lengthy tubes that resembled pens and pencils. That's not right, the last thing she remembered was being in the woods. What was that all about? Swaying slightly, she managed to get to her feet. Something was seriously off around here. The ceiling looked so high up, she must be in a grand hall or something. A very run down grand hall anyway, this place looked ready to fall apart.

"Lara? Chris?" She muttered, searching for her siblings.

Suddenly, there was a horrible prickling at the back of her neck like she was being watched. Cautiously she braced herself and one step at a time, turned around. But nothing could have prepared her for the sight that towered over her. Two figures stood before her, a girl and a boy that looked a little similar to one another. Both had large round eyes and dark brown hair, the boys sticking out messily under a blue and white cap while the girls trailed down to her waist. But it wasn't the _giant_ strangers that unnerved her, it was that they had her cornered in an unfamiliar place; alone. Judging on her position, she could very well fit in their palms snugly, she just hoped that they weren't going to put it to the test.

She clamped her teeth on her tongue to stop a shriek and instantly backed away, tripping over one of the huge pencils and falling flat on her back. This time unable to stop a groan as she hit the two strips of pain in her spine. The mountain of a girl leant inwards, making her feel uncomfortable and grinned with light bouncing off of the braces coating her teeth.

"Hi!"

"Uh…" was all the newcomer could get out.

"How you feeling sleepy-peeps?"

"Uh…"

"I'm Mabel! Can you say that? May-bell."

"Uh…"

"Close enough. Can you say Dipper? Oh, this is my brother Dipper. Go on, you can do it!"

"Lara!" She finally found her voice, eyes darting in panic and trying to shuffle backwards, "Chris!"

"Awe, not quite but you'll get there!" the girl gave a wink and a thumbs up.

"Mabel, it's not a baby, stop babbling at it."

It? What was this it? Was he calling her it? How dare he? That insulting label seemed to trigger an anger inside of her that mixed with her fear and pushed the words out of her mouth louder, "I'm not an _it_! _It's_ name is Roxie you jerk!"

Dipper clamped his mouth shut in awe at the outrage. Suddenly Roxie felt a growing dread that maybe she shouldn't be insulting the giant before her who could easily smash her if he wanted to. The girl, Mabel, turned to her brother and smirked, "Told ya girls don't like being called that."

Roxie blinked, "What is going on? Where am I?"

"You're at the Mystery Shack." The boy, Dipper answered, "You kind of ran into trouble in the woods."

"And what part of that included me getting kidnapped by you two?"

"Mystery twins!" Mabel corrected proudly.

Dipper sighed, "Seriously, that again?"

"What? I thought you were coming around to the idea."

"I was but then it kind of got overused and now it's just annoying again."

Roxie arched an eyebrow, "You trying to be a hipster or something?"

Dipper blinked, how did this creature know about modern references? "Uh, no… You know what hipster means?"

"Well yeah, where do you think I live, under a rock?"

"Uh…"

"Yeah!" Mabel grinned, "That's where we found you ! Well, on a rock technically. In the woods and that's where all the not-humany people usually are. Oh I know! You're some kind of pixie or elf, right? Or a Brownie…" she suddenly giggled, "Hehe, Brownie, it doesn't even sound right!"

Roxie watched the boy face-palm and felt like joining him. This girl believed in fairies? Seriously? "I'm no such thing. And for your information I was visiting this place with my family; all _humans_."

"Bit on the small side for a human, aren't you?" Dipper asked, crouching down so he was eye level with her, "If you're human then how did that happen?"

Getting irritated with the interrogation she folded her arms warningly, wanting to get off the subject, "Last thing I remember is getting jumped by those santa-men in the woods and then waking up here. So as far as I'm concerned it's everyone else that's weird here, not me."

Mabel's eyes widened, "Oh my gosh! Maybe she's right! The entire universe might have altered and now we're giants among men!" she beamed and raised her arms triumphantly, "Go Mabelzilla!"

Exasperated, Dipper rolled his eyes, "Mabel, seriously, what are the chances of that happening? Clearly it's just confused and- ow! Hey!"

Forgetting that he had lowered himself to Roxie's eyelevel, she took advantage of the closeness and gave a swift punch to his nose. How dare he call her an 'it' when she was standing right there! He may be bigger but that didn't give him any authority over her. Admittedly the punch wasn't hard but it still took him by surprise and gave her some satisfaction. She may not remember how she got there with them, but she didn't like the way they treated her. One spoke to her like a child and the other was like some scientist with an ego boost. And if they didn't believe her story then she didn't care. It wasn't like their approval was required anyway. In fact, she didn't need to tell them anything.

Mabel chuckled at the attempted attack, "Wow Dipper, how _manly_ do you feel right now?"

He gave her a disapproving glare and turned it to Roxie, pulling back to a safe distance. "What was that for?"

"I don't care what you think I am, I've got nothing to prove to you. In fact, I don't even have to stay and listen to this. So thanks for the heart attack but I'll be heading home if you don't mind. Bye!"

Dipper watched in confusion as the girl walked to the edge of the desk and peered over the edge as if sizing up the drop. Surely she wasn't going to jump? No, instead she leaned across to grab the lamp wire and zip lined down to the ground, landing roughly and stumbling. Collecting herself, she continued the journey.

"Wait, you can't leave, the gnomes might still be out there!" Mabel warned, laying on the floor on her stomach to be closer to eyelevel.

"Gnomes… _right_."

"It's true! They were going to marry you, I know because they tried to do it to me once!"

"In that case thank you so much!" Roxie said in a snarky tone. She'd had reached the door by this point, Mabel army-crawling to keep up, "Nice meeting you!"

Just like that, she was out of sight. Dipper arched an eyebrow, not really sure how to react to what just happened. Did he go after it? It was hurt after all and after knowing that it could speak and think, etc, his curiosity was increasing by the second to find out more. And Mabel looked ready to jump up and chase it down. So it said it came from a family of humans, and didn't seem to believe their story; but she seemed a little too accepting of being that size and the situation to be anything but used to that height and thus, not human. It was a mystery, and it wasn't going to be solved just sitting there. Oh great, he sighed to himself, there goes any chance of a break.

Mabel stood and brushed herself down, "Why didn't she believe us?"

"Good question, in fact there's a lot of questions here." He scratched his head in thought.

"Is one of them: why are we still standing here when we could be stopping Roxie getting into more trouble?" she gasped, "Oh no, it's Soos' weekly 'vacuum the store's forgotten food for lunch' day!"

"You see, that really grosses me out and yet I can't look away."

"Same here, it's hypnotic!"

Suddenly the meaning behind the announcement struck him. Creature only inches tall plus vacuum equals disaster! He tightened his cap to his head, "Mabel, you search the house, she couldn't have gone that far. I'll start looking outside."

"Why would she be there?"

He shrugged, "She wanted out, right? So she'll be trying to _get_ out."

* * *

Roxie lay on her front and tried to catch her breath. That had been one heck of a ride. Upon exiting the twins bedroom, she had first tried to attempt the stairs but thought against it. Thankfully there had been a large crack in the woodwork on the side of the house, leading into the open. And as luck would have it, the rickety drainpipe was swaying near by. It hadn't been much of a jump to reach it, and the slide downwards would have been fun if it wasn't for all the leftover muck and leafs clogging her way. But she would rather go through that and end up on solid ground then go back. She didn't like the way she was treated in there. Cooed at by an excitable girl and objectified by some schmuck! She didn't have to take it, and it wasn't their business who she was or where she came from. She knew, and that's all that mattered. Well that and getting there.

If the last place she'd seen her siblings was in the woods, then it made sense to go back there. Taking in the colossal sights, she started on her way. The place seemed pretty empty, which worked in her favour. But her luck had been far from useful as of yet, so she had to make it count. Sprinting with all her energy, ignoring the pain in her back, she let the shadows of the trees take her. There was nothing she recognised, or rather, everything looked the same. Helpful. Surely whose kids weren't serious about gnomes trying to marry her? It was just too random!

She flinched as a twig snapped behind her and a dark shape skimmed in and out of view. And it looked _big_. Roxie felt her heart hammering against her chest. Where the hell were Lara and Chris? In the blink of an eye, she'd started running, panting desperately to force herself onwards. No, she needed to get high up. If she was high then she'd be out of reach and safe. But all the trees here had their branches way too high up and with few footholds; she'd never get down let alone up. So it looked like running was the best bet. For a second, her eyes clenched shut as if she was trying to picture herself somewhere, anywhere, else. And she definitely didn't want to picture herself plummeting suddenly as her foot stooped downwards. Her eyes snapped open and she released a scream as she found that she'd run out of ground; falling down what would be just a dried out river bed only a few feet deep, but to her it was like a canyon. Eyes sealed, she braced herself.

A sudden pain sprang through her as she landed on her back, but this time on something softer than the solid ground she was expecting. Darkness swallowed her as whatever she landed on curved around her in a shield. Her body jolted as whatever was containing her moved and starting bouncing rhythmically as if it was running. A lump of fear caught in her throat and she curled in on herself, wishing for it to end soon. She didn't know what was going on, she didn't want this, she just wanted to remember what had happened and go home!

Suddenly, everything went still and she could hear a slight panting of breath that she was sure wasn't from her. Her eyes were forced into a wince as the pinky dome around her started to open up, letting the evening light flood over her. When her eyes adjusted, she looked down to see that she was sitting on a slightly curved platform that felt a little fleshy. A pair of hands? Slowly, she turned her head and saw a large pair of wide eyes looking down at her. Part of Roxie was happy to see him again for saving her, the other was filled with annoyance that he'd dared to follow her and practically kidnap her. Again.

"Anyone would think you _like_ giving yourself a death wish." Dipper panted, cheeks flushed from the lunge he'd taken to catch her and short sprint to a calm spot shaded with trees.

Roxie scooted around in his palm to face him, not trusting herself to stand just yet, "I don't need your help, I can take care of myself."

"Yeah, it really looked like it." He gave a knowing smile, hoping to make peace or at least just get a little gratitude.

"Yeah, well…" she sighed and looked to the side, "Thanks… I guess."

"Don't mention it."

"I won't."

Dipper rolled his eyes and felt his curiosity tweak a little more. It was all too much of a mystery to ignore, so as much as he wasn't happy about his next question, he felt that it was necessary for his investigation.

"Listen, why don't you stick around with us for a while? You know, just until you can find a way home."

She arched an eyebrow and added air quotes with her fingers, "So you can 'observe the creature's behaviour' more like."

"Well I wouldn't put it like that…"

"Thanks but no thanks, Dippy.

"Dipper."

"I'm not something you see on the mystery channel; I'm a person. You have no right to treat me otherwise."

Seeing that he was loosing her he backtracked, "Okay, I'm sorry. But seriously, you can either stay with us until you figure things out, or brave it out there alone again."

"I want to go home."

Dipper felt a pang of guilt, "Well… Where'd you live?"

"I'm not telling you that. I don't know you." She said bluntly, "But, I'm visiting family near the town centre."

"Well that visit's going to be memorable." He muttered, indicating her size compared to her 'supposed' human form.

"Look who's talking." She arched an eyebrow, "Okay, let's compromise. Take me to the town centre and I'll go from there. You get to see that I live in a human habitat while I get to go home and forget this day ever happened."

"Or, I take you to your family myself. Unless of course, you are hiding something?" he challenged.

"Well from the, let's see," she glanced at an invisible watch, "fifteen minutes I've known you, you have done nothing but ramble mythical conspiracies and take away my humanity by objectifying me, so sorry if I don't want you near my family."

He gritted his teeth in irritation at her stubborn, yet rational logic, "Good luck getting home then."

"That's blackmail and I'm pretty sure it's kidnap too."

"It's neither. Because technically we rescued you so it's not kidnap and we're giving you the option to stay with us if you need it, or you can head off."

"You keep saying 'we' and yet it's just you here." She circled her finger by her ear in a screw-ball symbol, "Okay, Dippy, how many people have you got in there?"

"It's _Dipper_." He growled.

"Just you and Dipper, that'll make it easier to take a guess." She smirked.

She could feel him starting to shake with irritation and felt a tweak of satisfaction, although she didn't feel too comfortable being in his hands. "Okay, fine, have it your way." To further his point, he lowered his hand down to the ground, making Roxie's stomach flip, "Go on home then, no one's stopping you. The offer's there if you want it."

Roxie looked over her shoulder at the ever-growing gloom of the forest and shivered. She had nothing to protect herself with out there and thinking about it, she had no clue what she was meant to protect herself against. She knew that he was calling a bluff, but the idea of going against it made her anxious. So, hating herself for letting him get one over on her, she stayed put on his palm and looked him in the eye.

"Fine. I mean, yeah, I'd like to stay. But just until I can get my family here to fetch me." The next word was bitter in her mouth, but she spat it out, "Thanks."

He gently lifted his hand to near eye-level again. Instead of acting smug like she expected, Dipper softened his expression and tweaked his cap with his free hand, "You're welcome."

**GSV XIHGZO NBHGVIB WVVKVMH**

**A/N:**

**So what do you think of Roxie so far? And is she human or is she another creature to beware of? Tell me what you think XD Until next time folks!**


	4. A Little Honesty, A Lot of Confusion

**A/N:**

**Code answer: The crystal mystery deepens.**

**So we've now met Roxie. I know she's a really sarcastic bugger at the moment but she's had a bad day so it'll tone down a little in time. Thanks for the reviews, I love you guys for it XD So… read on!**

Dipper really did feel sorry for the girl. It was highly unlikely that she was human, and that made him inclined to distrust her; but he could understand wanting the company of family. That's why he made his offer. He'd be getting answers and she'd be getting what she wanted too. It was a win-win. Roxie flinched in his palm as rain started to speckle the ground. They looked up and saw and a dark cloud was creeping in over the tree tops. The air had become heavy and damp. Dipper shifted uneasily, storms in Gravity Falls were never fun…

"It's too risky carrying you through the Shack just yet." Dipper explained as gently as he could, thinking of how Stan would most likely turn her into an attraction or something.

"So I hide in a pocket or…" Roxie waited for another option. In answer, Dipper removed his cap and indicated upwards. She folded her arms, "Heck no. I'm not suffocating under there."

At least it's dry, Dipper thought, "Come on, it'll be for, like, five minutes."

"I swear if you put me up there I'll – Hey!"

In a single swift movement, Dipper had picked her up by pinching the back of her top and lifted her upwards onto his head, lightly replacing the headgear lightly on top. He chuckled, "You'll do what?" Suddenly he grimaced, "Ow! Sharp nails, hair, sharp nails, hair!"

Inside, Roxie was starting to tug handfuls of curls in revenge as well as steadying herself. He started bobbling up and down as he began walking, giving the occasional twitch of his neck in discomfort. She refused to stop. How dare he manhandle her like that? First calling her an 'it' and now this? She wasn't some pet! Plus, he was clearly being over cautious. As far as she could hear, Dipper didn't run into anyone else in the shack. That is, until she felt him stop and felt a sudden heat building within him. She could hear a struggle to keep a steady breathing and allowed herself a smirk. She'd seen signs like this before, when someone was trying not to blush.

"Hi Wendy!"

On the outside, Dipper was rain-drenched and grinning goofily at the redhead behind the counter, momentarily forgetting his reluctant passenger. Wendy glanced up from her comic, "Oh hey, kid, how's it hanging?"

"Good, yeah, great, hehe… How's, uh, you, hanging?"

He heard a muffled voice scoff, "_How's you hanging_? Seriously?"

To shut her up he flicked his cap harshly and awaited Wendy's answer. She shrugged, "Meh, same old. Uh, you have a rat in your hat or something?"

Dipper noticed the movement where Roxie was getting irritated and trying to get him back for the flick by making the hat shift like it was moving of its own accord. He gave a nervous chuckle and smacked his hand down over the headgear, pinning Roxie in place flat against his hair.

"Something like that." He replied, shuffling backwards towards the stairs, kind of wishing that he hadn't stopped to talk but at the same time wanting to talk more.

Wendy had moved on to stabbing the buttons on her cell phone in frustration, "Ah come on, _boo_! Man, this storm's really jacking up the reception. Bet you five dollars the power goes out tonight."

He laughed nervously, "You're on…"

"You okay? You're acting more jumpy than usual." Wendy commented, already returning to her magazine.

"I can't breathe!" Roxie whispered into the boys' ear.

"Zip it." He muttered back.

"Huh?" Wendy asked.

"I said… uh, _is _it!"

"Is it what?"

"Uh, you said I was jumpy. And I replied 'is it', meaning the 'it' as myself meaning 'am I' and… I'll catch you later!" he rambled, turning tail and stepping rapidly up the stairs, leaving Wendy to shrug passively and return to her procrastination.

* * *

Wow it was really stuffy in here! All the blushing he was doing had risen to his scalp which was now uncomfortably humid. Roxie have an extra sharp pull on a handful of hair to get Dipper to hurry up. He was getting irritated and by the time he'd made it back into the attic bedroom, his fists were clenched and teeth gritted. Mabel was on the floor and searching under the beds for the tiny runaway. Her eyes lit up when her brother walked in, clothes darkened from the rain and droplets falling from his nose and chin.

"Did you find her?" she asked hopefully.

Dipper hunched his shoulders and glared upwards at his hat, "Yes I _found_ her… Little she-demon…"

Finally, he came to a stop and a rush of air washed over Roxie as the cap was taken away. She tensed in discomfort as he wrapped his fingers gently around her to lift her away from him, she found herself once again placed on the desk in the attic bedroom. She resented the she-demon comment but she could get her own back from listening in on the exchange just moments ago.

Roxie got to her feet and arched an eyebrow at him, "Smooth, Dippy, real smooth…"

Dipper scowled at her, "Was there any need for that?"

She shrugged scornfully at him, "Was there any need for the surprise pick up attack?"

"Are you going to be this difficult all the time?"

"Are you going to be such a jerk?"

"Who's being a jerk?"

"You, that's why I asked, Dippy."

"Dipper."

"Whatever."

"What's with the sarcasm, seriously?"

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm having a bit of a bad day!" she threw her arms out to signify the situation.

The argument was paused by a cackling from across the room. They turned to see Mabel clutching her sides from laughter, "You two are better than cable!"

The bickering pair paused to look at one another and sighed. Roxie slumped her shoulders and felt guilty. Perhaps pulling in the reigns on her attitude was a good thing. After all, they had technically saved her, from what she didn't know but saved all the same; and they had given her a place to stay. Even if she didn't want to stay with them for long, it was still a helping hand towards getting home and that counted for something. She looked up at Dipper and gave an apologetic half shrug. Dipper acknowledged her and figured that there wasn't much sense on continuing the battle either. He secretly cursed his forgiving nature and blamed Mabel for it, the amount of times she guilt tripped him it had just become second nature. In return, he simply gave her a 'forget it' kind of glance.

"Can… Can we call my family now? Please?" Roxie asked quietly.

"Yeah, sure, uh, what's the number?" he asked. Roxie told him as he wrote it down and suddenly hesitated, "And how exactly do I explain this to them?"

She arched her brow, "Trust me, you won't have to mention it."

He gave her a sceptical look but went out into the hallway all the same where there was a phone on a stand. He dialled the number and waited patiently, not really expecting anyone to answer while keeping one ear on high alert on the conversation in the room. Mabel scooted over to the edge of her bed and leant over so that her elbows rested on the desk. A look of curiousness upon her, she didn't hesitate to voice the many questions building in her head. Roxie, reading the expression, braced herself.

"So do you guys have phones in the forest? Well the trees are pretty high so it'd be easier getting reception I guess." She glanced out of the triangle shaped window above the desk, the outside world blurred from the rain drumming against the glass, "I hope you get flooding insurance…"

"Mabel, right?" She wasn't sure of she was joking or not, "What exactly do you think I am?"

"That's me!" she grinned, "Well if I were to take a guess, I'd say you were a fairy or pixie, but you don't have wings." Her eyes widened, "But your backs hurt, maybe they got pulled off or something! _Ouch_! Can they grow back?"

Taken back by the unneeded sympathy, Roxie shook her head, "I've never had wings, don't worry. And it's just a couple of scratches." Yeah, scratches which were pricking horribly and felt like they were being made over and over again.

Mabel looked a little deflated at that, "So what used to be there?"

"Skin?"

"Hey I got skin there too! Maybe I'm part fairy!" she beamed, "Would that make Dipper an elf? Nah I'm pretty sure boys can be fairies too."

Roxie laughed, still unsure if the girl was kidding or not, but liking the humour all the same, "Well you got me. I'm actually one-hundred and thirty, I live in the Amazon rainforest but I'm here for my training because I've recently graduated top of the class in pixie Olympic training and next year I'm due to represent my tree in the high jump and fly."

There was a long pause before Mabel's clamped her hands o her cheeks in excitement, "Whoa… you're over a hundred? What kind of moisturiser do _you_ use?"

Roxie gave a friendly smirk, "I'm joking."

Mabel suddenly burst into giggles, "If you say so; so that must mean you had an accident with those crystals. I was gonna make some earrings out of them but it wasn't really worth the risk… and these ones are better anyway." She pulled back her hair to reveal earring shaped liked bows.

"What are these crystals or gems or whatever they are? The closest thing to a crystal I've seen is the little diamond in my moms wedding ring and that's nothing to brag about."

"But if you never came across those then that just leaves only one other option." Dipper commented, re-entering the room and standing fully by his theory, fingers twitching to flick through the journal. He'd been listening in on this exchange while dialling the number multiple times; each time the line being dead from the storm. In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if the lines actually were connected and she'd given a fake number to throw them off her scent. "I don't understand why you don't just come out with it."

"So just because I haven't seen a crystal that can supposedly shrink things I must be some form of those santa-men which are apparently gnomes?" Roxie felt frustration bubble inside her, "Things aren't that black and white, you know. And I don't have to explain myself to you."

Dipper continued to look quizzically at the tiny houseguest, "So what exactly _did_ happen out there?"

Feeling that she still didn't have to explain herself to them; after all she'd be out and back home soon and wouldn't have to see them, she'd tried to be as blunt as possible while keeping to the truth. Frankly, she didn't care what they thought of her, it wasn't the first time she'd been treated like this. So, she told her story. And in Dipper's opinion, it was too short, but he couldn't very well force her to talk. Mabel on the other hand listened inventively like a child being told a fairytale in a library. Yes, she was enjoying this. It wasn't very often they came across a being from the forest that _wasn't_ trying to kill them, so why not make the most of it?

"Like I said, I came here with my parents, brother and sister to visit some family, me and my siblings went to explore the forest and I wondered off. The gnome-things grabbed me and I hit my head trying to escape. Next thing I know I'm here making your _wonderful_ acquaintance." She explained while shooting a glare at Dipper.

"So no crystals or anything?" Dipper arched an eyebrow sceptically, "You were this size the whole time?"

Feeling pressured, she folded her arms, "As far as I know."

"Return of Mabelzilla!" Mabel grinned, "Hey, do you think if any aliens came to Earth now then they'd be tiny? Or has it spread throughout the galaxy?"

Dipper was getting irritated, "This isn't making sense!"

"You get used to it." Roxie shrugged, but suddenly paused at the darkening sky, "Wait… So when are my parents coming?"

"They're not. Storms knocked out the phone lines so we'll have to wait till the morning." Dipper answered a little regretfully.

Perfect, Roxie thought dejectedly. Mabel clapped her hands together, "Alright, slumber party!"

* * *

Mabel stood by the window, crouched in preparation, "Three, two, one… _Boom!_" She waited, and nothing happened; snapping her fingers in frustration, she repeated the process, "Three, two, one… _Explode!_" Again, nothing, "Dang it!"

Roxie arched an eyebrow at Dipper from her makeshift bed on the desk which ended up being Dipper's cap, upside down and padded with Mabel's leftover sweater-making fabric for blankets, "What is she doing?"

Words muffled from the pillow that he'd forced over his face, he answered, "Trying to use her supposed psychic powers to guess when the lightning's gonna show. She does it every storm." Lifting the pillow slightly, he scowled at his twin, "Mabel, it's been a long day…"

"Come, on! One more go, I think I got it this time. Okay… Three, two, one… _Illumination!_" All of a sudden, the room was coated with the jagged flash of lightening, followed seconds later by a low rumble of thunder. Mabel punched the air with a grin, "Yes!"

"Great, now sleep…" Dipper mumbled, leaning across the desk to turn out the lamp.

He wasn't sure how long he waited, but until the breathing of his two roommates was steady and deep, he didn't move a muscle. Finally, Dipper ever so carefully pulled out the journal and flashlight that had been stored safely under his pillow. He'd lost count of the times he'd done this when the house had fallen silent. He pushed himself up so that he was leaning against the wall, knees bent under the sheets so that the book could rest against them without the use of his hands. That way he could use one hand to hold the flashlight and the other to turn pages. It was a good thing Mabel was a heavy sleeper, he wasn't sure about Roxie, but she'd had a pretty big day so he guessed that she wouldn't be disturbed.

He didn't really know what he was looking for; mostly he was looking at the pictures and symbols in hope that something would jump out at him. If he could find something that resembled the wounded stumps on Roxie's back, he might be closer to getting answers. After the touchy way she'd reacted lately he didn't really fancy getting on the bad side of her again. Despite her size, the girl had the anger capacity of a pro wrestler. She wasn't making any sense. So she hadn't come across the size altering gems and she had those marks; yet she claimed to come from a family of humans and was _normal_! Was she implying that she'd always been that size? But that meant she _wasn't_ human, right? Why did she insist on being so vague; didn't she trust them? Suddenly, he paused, sinking down a fraction. Trust no one. That was the advice he was following. Blaming her for doing likewise seemed a little…

"Maybe I'm being a little hypocritical…" he muttered to himself.

"How so?"

"_Agh_!"

"_Agh_!"

As Dipper had muttered, a mass of mousy hair and curious eyes had peeked up from over the top of the book, taking him by surprise and as a reflex he jolted and flattened himself further against the wall. Roxie, who had been awoken by the dim light and flicker of turning pages had leapt onto his bed and scuttled up the mound in the bed sheets to the top of his knees where she could get a better view. His terrified reaction forced an instinct yell out of her and she too jumped back, almost topping down the blanket mountain but instead ending up on her back, head upside down and legs curved on his knees for support. At the noise, Mabel rolled over to face the wall, groaning in her sleep.

"Shut up, Aoshima, they'll see us…"

Dipper snapped the book shut as Roxie sat up straight, "You almost gave me a panic attack!" he whispered.

"Almost?" She shrugged, "I'm a light sleeper and you woke me up, and I wanted to see what you were up to."

He noticed that she was wincing and arching her back slightly, the sore marks stinging, "Hey, are you alright?"

It wasn't just his way of getting answers as to what they were, he was also truthfully concerned, "Yeah, I guess. Listen, this had been killing me, you mind taking a look and seeing what's wrong?"

Before he could answer, she'd stood up on his knees and turned her back on him, flipping her hair forward and hitching up the back of her T-shirt until the wounds were fully exposed, all the while keeping a firm grip on the front of the clothing to keep her dignity. Dipper felt his face flush at her confidence and a voice in his head was telling him to look away out of politeness. At his hesitation, Roxie turned her head and scoffed at his unease.

"Grow up, Dippy," she scoffed, "But this really hurts so can you hurry it up?"

"Oh, uh, sure!" he leant in slightly, seeing the moment as an opportunity to gain more of an insight as to what to look for in the journal. The bumps were very red, scabbed slightly as if from bleeding a while ago. "It doesn't look comfortable to say the least."

Roxie lowered the top and turned to face him again, moving to sit cross-legged over his kneecap, "Nice work, Sherlock."

"I didn't hurt it when I, you know, picked you up before, did I?"

"Nah, lucky for you." She warned, "Nothings dislocated or broken; do you think they're bug bites or something like that?"

So she didn't know either? Dipper felt a pang of disappointment, but didn't show it, "I honestly couldn't say."

"Helpful…"

"Sarcasm, again, really?"

"Look who's taking." she shot back, but felt a pang of guilt. After all, he had let her stay and he seemed to have dropped calling her an 'it' which was one thing, "Listen, I am… sorry about giving you guys a hard time. It's, uh, not been the most fun day…"

"You're telling me; forget about it." He shrugged, actually pretty pleased that he'd gotten a real apology out of her, "Hey if you'd met Grunkle Stan then you'd know that I'm used to snarky comments. Actually I think you two would get along great."

A smile tweaked her lips, "You know, Dippy, you're alright."

"From you I'll take that as a compliment." He stifled a yawn and tucked the book back under his pillow, "Truce?" he asked, going to stick out his hand for her to shake, but double-taking and holding out a pinkie finger instead.

Finding the gesture a little amusing, she took it, "Sure, truce."

Retracting his hand, he nodded at the desk, "Do you, uh, need a hand?"

She shook her head, "I'm good." When he gave her a sceptical arch of an eyebrow, she proved her point by turning her back on him and sliding down the blanket covering his legs, landing gracefully by his feet. Not wanting to move for fear of accidently hurting her, Dipper waited and watched as she walked up the mattress and made an expert leap back onto the desk. She bowed, "And that is how you do it."

"Show off." Dipper smirked in approval, waiting for her to settle inside the curve of the cap before switching off the flashlight, "G'Night."

"Night… _Dippy_." She replied, enjoying the muffled groan of irritation from her companion as she closed her eyes for her first night in the Mystery Shack; and for a split second, she figured that maybe these two weren't the worst people to be stuck with her now. But as much of the truth she'd stuck to so far, she couldn't tell much more of it. After all, she'd promised.

**SLNVDZIW YLFMW LI GZPRMT Z WVGLFI? **

**A/N:**

**What has she promised not to tell and to who? What's this girls secret? Care to take a guess? What'd you all think? Shall I stop asking questions and write the next chapter? YES! XD**


	5. Lil' ol' Invitations

**A/N:**

**Code Answer: Homeward bound or taking a detour?**

**Thanks for the reviews guys and gals, keep 'em coming, and I've loved reading your theories on Roxie, they're awesome. To quote a reviewer, they're 'epiclly awesome' hehe XD**

Mabel awoke to the sound of snickering. That instantly put a smile on her face, always wanting to be in on a joke first thing in the morning. She rolled over and pushed away the sheets, remembering the events of the day before as she did so, morphing her smile into a grin. I hope Roxie slept alright in that crumby hat, she pondered. However, the question would have to wait as it was instantly replaced by another. Why was Dipper laughing at his own cap on the desk? Where it had been turned upside down for Roxie to sleep in, now it was right side up and, if Mabel wasn't mistaken, making little jittery movements.

"What's going on?"

Dipper snorted with laughter in answer. An irritable voice from under the hat called out, "I know you're there, Dippy! Let me out of here now!"

Mabel narrowed her eyes and got to her feet in accusation. Instantly Dipper tried to clear his name, "No-no-no! She tried to climb out on her own and it flipped over." He insisted, cheeks red with attempting not to laugh again.

Mabel had to admit that it was funny, but she gave a quick giggle to get it out of the way before giving her reluctant little friend a helping hand by skipping to the desk and lifting the cap gently. Now in the open, Roxie looked dishevelled and annoyed, glaring at Dipper who smiled sheepishly. She looked up at Mabel's hopeful expression and sighed in exasperation.

"I hate that hat…"

Now that she was free, Roxie had to give a light smirk in spite of herself; she guessed that it would look pretty funny from the outside. From the triangular window, the sun was once again shining, the remains of the storm had faded away into leftover puddles and pleasant warm air that took them back to the core of summer. To the twins, it meant another day in their summer lives. To Roxie, it meant she was going home.

"Can you try calling my parent's again?" she asked hopefully.

Dipper gave his sister an expectant look to which she beamed, "Okie-dokie karaoke! Hey, you wanna stay for breakfast first? Race you!"

Just like that, she was off in a fit of laughter. Roxie blinked in bemusement; not admitting that she was a little hungry; and glanced up at the remaining company, "She does know that she's already won, right?"

"Why'd you think she picked the challenge?" he shrugged, "We can call your folks after food if you're staying. Oh, and you won't have to worry about Grunkle Stan, he doesn't get up till gone noon on a weekday."

Kind of wanting to meet this Stan, and yet glad she hadn't, Roxie nodded in fake passiveness at the delay in getting home. "If you say so. Uh… you mind giving me a lift; unless you want a race too? In that case, you win."

"Oh, uh, sure…"

At first he reached a hand towards her, curving his digits as if ready to hold her gently in his fits. But then at the last minute changed course and moved in his fingers as if preparing to pinch the back of her shirt; however he changed his mind again by laying his palm flat for her to step on, only to take both hands away and rethink the process. All the while, Roxie just observed this with amusement, arms folded and eyebrow arched.

"I don't bite."

"But you _do _claw and pull hair." Dipper reminded her by replacing his cap.

She gave a wry smile but took pity on him, "Alright, Dippy, lay your hand flat, palm up,"

Sure he'd lifted her before, but that was only when necessary like when he caught her in mid-fall or when he had to act fast to hide her. But when it came to actually having her permission, he wasn't sure if there was a technique to it or if she was going to grumble again. Not that he wanted her approval, but frankly he didn't want to listen to her complaining about anything else either since the truce had been made. Feeling a mixture of irritation and embarrassment, he followed instructions.

With his left hand, he lay his palm upwards just behind her. She nodded and casually crouched down so that she was sitting upright snugly in his palm with her legs hanging over the edge. Taking her expectant look as a sign, he steadily raised his hand so that they were pretty much eyelevel. Dipper felt a glimmer of self-pride at his achievement; and done so with little mockery too. That is, until she ruined it with a patronising slow clap.

"Congratulations, this is probably the first and last time you'll ever pick up a girl."

He scowled, "Don't make me drop you."

Roxie titled her head challengingly, "I Dippy-dare you."

Instead he slumped his shoulders and rolled his eyes, "It's _Dipper_… And you seem very particular about how to be handled for a supposed _human_." He commented sceptically.

She kicked her legs casually and chose to ignore that one, "Mabel's waiting." For an added effect she made a whipping motion at him, "_Mush! Mush!_"

* * *

After digging into the colossal breakfast which ended up being less than a tenth of a pancake, Roxie had once again asked for the call to her parents to be made. In truth, she was slowly getting to like the twins; she didn't get much interaction with kids her own age very often. But no matter how much they were growing on her, they weren't home, and things were getting a little too close to the truth for her liking.

The problem was, was that Dipper knew that she was getting used to them and in theory meant that she was likely to open up soon. But, as much as it irritated him, and deflated Mabel's mood on the possibility of loosing a new friend, he made the call. Now that the storm had cleared, the dial-tone connected instantly. Covering a hand over his open ear to block out the sounds of his sister cackling and Roxie's contribution, he listened into the phone. He didn't know what he was expecting to hear on the other end, but he certainly didn't expect to hear this: _"The Falling Star Hotel: Gravity Falls, how can I help you?"_

"-and that's pretty much how my fake-lationship with Gideon ended." Mabel sighed as she finished her story, "So between him and Jeff, I can only improve!"

Roxie cringed, "From what you've said, they were real jerks. Possibly bigger than your brother on a bad day." She teased.

Mabel rolled her eyes, "Awe, Dipping-Sauce is pretty cool most of the time!"

"Sure." She shrugged in mild agreement, "But you know what they say: Stupid men are the only ones worth knowing after all."

"Who said that?"

"Me! Okay, Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice said it first but I'm respectfully quoting."

Mabel nodded in understanding, "What else does she say?"

"Hmm… One time she says: A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony, in a moment."

"For some girls, sure." Mabel scoffed before remembering where this conversation sprouted from, "But fear not! Who's gonna get her epic summer romance soon? This girl!" she giggled, moving her arms in a little jig.

Roxie admired her attitude, but she disagreed with the concept as well as taking in the irony of Mabel's reaction to the quote, "Well you might, it's possible I guess."

Suddenly getting a high on the girl-time she'd been deprived of since moving to the Shack, curiosity took over, "So who was your last boyfriend? Unless you already have one? Spill! Spill!"

Oh how to answer that one… "Actually I don't have one, and never have." She indicated down at herself perched on the edge of a plate, "I kind of gave up the idea of romance a long time ago."

"_Pfft_! Why do that? It's not like you were always that height; and some guys like shorter girls."

That earned a laugh, even a nervous one. "I'll keep that in mind. You know, my brother and sister wouldn't like you very much."

"Oh… why's that?"

Feeling bad for the sudden look of upset on the girls face, she quickly explained herself, "Mainly because you can have a laugh. There's not a lot of room for jokes in my family."

Finding the complement in there as always, Mabel resumed her brace-filled smile with a mocking glint, "Is that why you're such a sourpuss?"

"I'm not a sourpuss!" she scoffed, "I'm a middle-child, sarcasm tends to be a useful tool of survival for me."

"Then I'll be sure to prepare myself for it…" Dipper muttered, taking a seat and retuning to his breakfast, "You know the number you gave was for a hotel, right?"

"Right."

"But you said you were visiting family?" he challenged.

Roxie arched an eyebrow, "I never said we were _close_ with the family…"

"We're going to a hotel?" Mabel asked excitably, "I've always wanted to try room-service; will they let us do that if we don't have a room?"

"They're not picking me up?"

"Yes we're going to a hotel; No they're not picking you up because they're not there at the moment;" Dipper answered, firstly looking at his sister and then turning to Roxie and then back to Mabel, "And we can ask about the room-service later."

"What if one of you can take me to the hotel, I can go from there?" Roxie urged, not wanting the inevitable meeting to take place. It would just lead to questions and then things would backfire horribly. Mainly on her.

"Oh no, we're going with you all the way." Dipper pointed a finger smugly, "Unless of course, there's something you're _hiding_ about your family which may just prove me right much to your distaste."

"Fine, come along." Roxie snarked, but seemed dejected. She wanted to go, but she wasn't comfortable with them taking her, "So how're we getting there? And _don't_ even think about putting me in that hat again."

"I've got that one covered." Mabel waved her had nonchalantly and pulled back her hair to reveal one earring on her left shaped like a little doll that just scraped her shoulder, but not one on her right.

Dipper gave a half smile of acknowledgment at the idea. If Roxie stood on Mabel's right shoulder, then who'd know the difference between her and an earring at a glance? And even if she was noticeable, Mabel's thick hair could form a curtain around her anyway. Roxie nodded in admiration, "That's actually pretty clever…"

Mabel shrugged, "It's a gift."

* * *

From her perch on Mabel's shoulder, Roxie could see everything, and what made it more thrilling was the fact that no one could see her. If only Mabel would stop skipping then this would be a pretty smooth ride. Not really much to do but hold on and try and think of a way out of this without having a certain someone on her case. Dipper on the other hand was trying to think of a way to get as much answers as possible. What he had said about the phone call was true. As far as the staff knew, her family wasn't currently at the hotel; however because he didn't know the family name, he was forced to go ahead and say that he was looking for a family with three kids, Roxie, Lara and Chris. Apparently they couldn't give much information away over the phone, but the only family with both a Lara and a Chris had gone out for the day, and the staff hadn't seen the family with a third child at all.

He wanted to ask Mabel if that seemed at all weird to her, but he hadn't had the chance without the risk of raising suspicion. He knew this girl was hiding something, why else would she be so vague about herself? And she hadn't mentioned much about her family; in fact she seemed overly eager to make sure that he and Mabel never see them. But that wasn't stopping him, heck no! If he saw the family, then it would really help. If they were small too, which kind of seemed unlikely since they were staying in a hotel in the middle of town, then there really was a supernatural quality to them. But if they freaked out over Roxie, then it leant more towards human. So why didn't she know what the crystals were? And he noted that apart from her snarky attitude which he guessed was just her, lucky him, she hadn't even bugged out about the size issue or even the gnomes. Granted she couldn't remember the gnomes much because she was unconscious, but surely it would spark some kind of reaction. Take him and Mabel, their reaction to the gnomes was flee in panic and then grab the nearest leaf-blower.

"Oh great…" Mabel groaned, coming to a stop and picking up a flyer that had been stuck to a nearby lamppost.

Roxie leaned out slightly to get a better look. The flyer was bright blue with sparking gold writing that was simply described as eye-catchingly tacky. _New attractions are coming to the Tent of Telepathy just for y'all! But it's a secret that just lil' ol' me knows about! But I'll share! Come on down!_ There was a boy taking centre stage who looked a little younger than she and the twins with massive platinum blond hair and a smile that she assumed was meant to be cute, but just came across as creepy. But he looked harmless enough; and by the looks of his baby-blue suit he was a con-merchant.

"Tent of Telepathy? Is that a rip-off of your Mystery Shack?" she asked, kind of feeling that the situation was vise-versa but biting her tongue.

Mabel handed the flyer to her brother, "Gideon is one of my many admirers I told you about. Irresistibility and all that!" she explained, but her playful grin soon vanished, "But he's a total but-face who's totally insane!"

Whoa… Roxie thought, Where did that come from? Dipper seconded that opinion, "He's a phoney psychic who's been trying to get back at us for Mabel not wanting to date him. He's the one who used the gems on us before."

"Wait, you mean you were like me at one point?" Roxie asked, curiosity tweaking.

"Only for a few hours." Mabel shrugged, making Roxie sway.

"Like you?" Dipper asked craftily, "Care to elaborate?"

Wanting to get off topic, Roxie pointed at the writing, "So what's the new attraction?"

Dipper held his chin in thought, knowing that she was diverting him but not giving her the satisfaction of drawing attention to it; "Seems a bit coincidental doesn't it? The crystals go missing and now all of a sudden Gideon's got a new attraction?"

"But what could it mean?" Mabel pondered, receiving a sceptical look from her company, she giggled and rolled her eyes, "I'm kidding! So you think that Gideon has them? What does he need them for? People still eat up his garbage no matter what!"

"Why Mabel, you don't want to go hurting my lil' ol' feelings now, do you?"

Roxie shied away at the sickly sweet southern accent back into hiding. The twins span around and wore identical glares at the newcomer. It was as if the flyer had suddenly animated. The dapperly dressed kid stood before them, but the cutesy act deformed into a malicious smirk. Dipper felt the need to take a step forward in front of his sister out of protectiveness. He lifted the flyer.

"So what's the secret? Or are you going to give into false advertising and not share?"

"Always read the fine print, boy, I ain't sharing anything until opening night in two days time." He turned to Mabel and reached out to take her hand softly, "Why not come, Mabel? I'm sure you and your whole family will just love what a show I've got planned."

Roxie was almost slipping down the back of Mabel's shoulder as she became more desperate to stay hidden, thankfully Mabel snatched her hand away and backed up, "Yeah right! Like I'd fall for a trick like that!"

"Trick? Why, you insult me!"

"And you, oh I don't know, _creep me out_!"

"Even if I told you that there'd be a buffet table made up of _only_ gummy-koalas and rainbow sherbet?"

"Hit the road, man, you're not fooling anyone." Dipper interjected, knowing his twins weakness to the sugar, "And don't count on catching us at your fraud fest either."

Gideon shrugged like the refusal meant nothing to him, which just made the twins more anxious, "Oh well what a shame! But never mind, boy; it's not like most of the town won't be there to take your place-_ahem_-I mean, to see the show." He gave another of his signature smiles that managed to merge the coy with the devilish as he carried on his way down the road, "And such charming earrings, Mabel; so lifelike, you're skills do amaze me. See y'all later…"

There was an uncomfortable chill in the air as the boy vanished around the corner. The twins glanced uneasily at one another. Mabel shivered, "He would have made a terrible little sister."

Roxie moved Mabel's hair out of the way and peeked out, "I didn't like that last comment…"

"Well I don't know about you guys but I didn't like _anything_ he just said. We can't let him get away with this… whatever this is."

"But it's not for two days, and you told him we weren't going."

Dipper arched and eyebrow cunningly, "That's where you're wrong, sister, I told him he wouldn't _catch_ us there. Oh we're going and putting a stop to it once and for all."

Roxie blinked and waved her hand at him to get attention, "Hey, hey, wait, what about getting me home? Don't get me wrong, I'm all for battling a nemesis but he's yours, not mine."

"But the curiousey feeling is starting!" Mabel moaned, "And if he's got the gems then you can -"

"I have never been near the things!" she insisted, "And I'm not stopping you from playing hero, just delaying it a little. Please, I just want to see my family." She looked pleadingly, "Put yourself in my position. You get where I'm coming from, right?"

Dipper sighed. Was this her getting back at him for supposed blackmail? So much for a truce. But… what she said kind of had a point. And it wasn't like they were running out of time with investigating Gideon, they had two days. But like Mabel said, he was getting more than a little curious. He looked at his twin and gave her an 'it's your call' look. Mabel looked between her brother and Roxie. If she was in Roxie's position, she'd definitely want to get home again. What would the mystery twins be separated? She gave a half smile and nodded. What can I say, Mabel thought, I'm a sucker for a happy ending.

* * *

"Who is it you were looking for?" the hotel receptionist asked, shadows under her eyes and monotone voice coated in fatigue.

"Mr and Mrs… uh…" Dipper blanched.

"Mavis." Roxie whispered into Mabel's ear, "Ian and Fran Mavis.

"Ian and Fran Mavis!" Mabel blurted.

The receptionist gave her an irritable look, to which Mabel returned with an innocent beam. They waited impatiently as the woman scanned through the book before her and finally sighed, "They checked out about three hours ago."

Roxie tensed, three hours? Was she serious? Dipper sensed the shock, "Do you know where they went?"

"Might have heard them talking about hitting the road," she shrugged, "I don't interview the guests, kid, I just book them in and out."

Mabel suddenly developed and urge to test out her detective skills and casually rested an elbow on the desk, arching an eyebrow knowingly, "I think you know exactly where they are."

"I really don't. Now if you don't mind, I've got work to do."

"Like covering up their tracks?" she urged.

"No."

"Uh, Mabel, this isn't -"

"I got this, brother." She nodded, "So you're telling me you _do_ know where they went?"

"No."

"So you do know what road is being hit?"

"No. Now I'm really busy so if you don't leave I'll have you escorted out."

Dipper started to steer his twin away, "Hehe… No, no don't do that, we'll uh, be going now!"

"But-"

"Come on, Mabel." He muttered, the harsher tone making her give in and roll her eyes.

"Alright, I'm moving!" she turned her head warningly, "This isn't over!"

Roxie did nothing throughout this exchange but crouch on Mabel's shoulder and hold on. That, and feel the ever growing rejection and disbelief turn her insides to ice. The sun from the outdoors shone down, but she still found herself shivering. Her family weren't meant to leave for at least another week or so, why would they leave now? They knew she was missing; they should be extending their stay so they could find her. That's what families do, right? That's what they should be doing! Roxie was vaguely aware of Dipper peering at her and Mabel angling her head to look at her own shoulder.

"Uh, are you alright there? Maybe they're staying with the family your visiting." Dipper swallowed anxiously, wanting to kick himself for giving this offer again and at such a bad time as well when Gideon was planning something, but felt it needed to be given, "You're, you know, welcome to come back to ours?"

There wasn't much Roxie could say at this time. Mabel tried to lighten the mood, "I gots ice-cream in the freezer. So in your case it'll be like an unlimited supply!"

Roxie refused to cry in front of them, so instead she turned her head away from them, "Fine; where else have I got to go?"

**DZIMRMT: R ORPV UOUUB XSZKGVIH**

**A/N:**

**I hate Gideon, but think his character is brilliant. He's the villain you love to hate which makes him a good character, lol XD I just had to include him. But what does he have planned? Well, the day after tomorrow (in the stories time-zone) will reveal a lot. Please review!**


	6. A Different Side

**A/N:**

**Code Answer: Warning: I like fluffy chapters.**

**You have been warned. And if you don't review then I will write only fluff and the story will go out of the window! Evil Laugh! Nah I'm kidding, I like story more… sometimes XD Anyways, onwards readers!**

Dipper understood that people coped with hard situations in different ways. Mabel would go to Sweatertown or, like him, would ramble openly to themselves in hope of finding a solution. Sometimes if Dipper found himself struggling with something, he would get irritable which admittedly didn't help things much. But Roxie's reaction was just, well, disturbing.

They'd been back at the Shack for ages and she still hadn't said anything. She just sat on the desk, not looking at anything in particular and not blinking. The world was so far away to her. Mabel had given up waving her hand in front of her spaced out face and at one point had even tried force feeding some of the promised ice-cream. All failed. Roxie had simple refused all recognition that she was in company. Mabel nudged her brother and passed him one of the sandwiches she'd made.

"Think she's gonna be okay?" she asked a little anxiously.

Dipper chewed slowly, trying to think of a good answer. Would someone be okay after being attacked by gnomes, staying the night in a strange place and then finding out their family had abandoned them all in less than twenty-four hours be okay? He sure wouldn't. "Sure, I mean, she can't stay like that for much longer. Her sarcasm can't rest for long!" he deliberately raised his voice in hopes of getting Roxie's attention, but failing miserably. He sighed, "Give her time."

"You really think her family are gone? I mean, surely family doesn't just leave their kids in the middle of nowhere like this?"

"Ours did." He replied with a smirk.

She grinned, "Oh yeah! Hey we turned out pretty good, who's to say she won't too?"

Not wanting to point out that _they_ were left with a family member with a place to stay and not just left alone in the woods; Dipper chose to admire his twin's optimism instead and nod, "Yeah… Sure…"

But Dipper still wasn't convinced. And despite his genuine sympathy for the girl, he still felt like she was being too stubborn for her own good by keeping secrets. And also there was the Gideon problem that was eating at him. He just knew that the little psycho was up to no good, heck, when was he up to _good_? Time was running out, they only had the rest of that day and tomorrow to find out what was going on and then it would be too late. He knew that he was being soft and giving in too easily to pity as well as Mabel's mothering instincts, and he was unsure if it was bugging him or not. Mabel sensed her brother's uncertainty and nudged him again. In her opinion, he worried too much, he really did. He had to realise just how complex the female mind was when it came to being emotional. Sure Roxie seemed down now but soon she'll see that it's not so bad. In fact, she wouldn't be surprised if she was back to her old self any second. After all, no one stayed depressed for long when there're people there to cheer you up.

Feeling that it had been quiet for too long, one can only listen to the sounds of chewing for so long without it getting annoying, Mabel took a few uneven bites from her sandwich and held it up for inspection, "Check it out."

Dipper tilted his head, "Kinda looks like a moose head."

She rolled her eyes, "It's obviously a star! What have you made?"

"I haven't made anyth-Hey get off you goof!" Dipper chuckled as Mabel started to try and clamber over him.

"Show me the sammich! Show me the sammich!" she demanded in a fake growl, leaning over his shoulder to grab for the food.

He jumped to his feet and held it out of reach, "Get your own!"

"Challenge accepted! Mabelzilla, _attack_!"

She grabbed his shoulders and hoisted herself onto his back, making him stumble forward and land on his stomach. Still defending his snack, Dipper rolled over and shoved her playfully with his foot so that she toppled onto her rear. Jumping to his feet and raising his prize above his head, Dipper gave a _'Ha!'_ of triumph, only to be rewarded with a pillow to the face. Wanting revenge, he grabbed his own pillow and Mabel narrowed her eyes in determination as the war commenced. They'd never called them pillow 'fights' because Dipper had always believed that was too girly; so pillow 'war' was more appropriate. Soon the pair was in a heap on the floor, faces set in bravery and some choice sniggers of victory escaping here and there. The sandwich long forgotten in the sibling's game.

The sounds of laughter, something she wasn't long used to, made Roxie blink and crash back into reality with a harsh jolt. For who knows how long, the numbness had consumed her, but now she was emerging from it. Her family had left her; pushed out into the unknown and abandoned her. And yet, here she was, listening to the sounds of laughter. Her dry eyes observed the twins from the desk, the initial reaction of bemusement fading away to a feeling of envy. She'd never been able to do this kind of thing with her siblings. They were never close anyway. Her family had always been pretty safety orientated so games like this weren't allowed. Or any games really. All she'd ever known is caution and seriousness. But… watching them two, she kind of wished that she could join in. Well, maybe she couldn't in the physical sense, but she refused to be left behind again. Her family had forgotten her; why the heck should she left herself be forgotten by them too?

"Come on, Dippy, put some effort into it!" she called, her voice slightly thick from being silent for so long, "Mabel! Go for the face!"

"Wow, she speaks." Dipper gave a half-smile of encouragement to the newly animated guest. But he forgot about his opponent. Upon receiving a pillow walloped on his nose, Dipper smirked at Roxie, "And since when are you on her side?"

"Since when is she ever on _your_ side?" Mabel grinned, ducking another swing, "Besides, we all know I'm the best bet in a pillow war."

"Oh yeah? Take that!" Dipper announced, faking a swing to the left and changing to the right at the last minute, hitting his twin on the shoulder.

"Ah, a fake-out, don't let him get away with that one!" Roxie offered. No, she vowed, she wouldn't be forgotten again. She wouldn't let herself be forgotten, "Hey, uh… Any food left?"

Mabel gave the halftime sign and tossed the 'weapon' back onto her bed before putting the plate with an extra sandwich on the desk next to Roxie, "And there's still ice-cream if you want it."

Roxie gave a weak smile of gratitude, "Thanks."

"Are you sure you're alright?" Dipper asked cautiously, "You're taking this a little too well all of a sudden, don't you think? I mean it's good your talking and stuff but, you know…"

Roxie shrugged, swallowing the lump in her throat and picking at a loose thread on her top, "No parents bossing me around, no siblings being jerks… I'm free and living the high life. What's wrong with that?"

"Hey, like Pippi Longstocking!" Mabel added, "All we need is a monkey and a horse!"

Roxie chuckled, but it was a little forced, and she knew that. Sure, on the outside she was making an effort to smile, but on the inside, she was still recovering from the numbness. But she wasn't stupid, she knew that Dipper wasn't convinced, and deep down even Mabel was picking up on the sudden chance in attitude; but she didn't care. After all, Roxie thought to herself, I've got nothing to prove to them, I never have.

"So, theoretically speaking, if that kid does have the crystals and we got them back… could you make me your size with them?"

"We?" Dipper questioned.

She arched an eyebrow, "I'm not a freeloader, Dippy. I need something from them so I'm not going to make you two do the dirty work and get them for me." Her look turned guilty, "Plus, you both let me stay here… I kind of owe you."

Mabel waved her hand passively, "What? _Pfft_! You don't owe us! And anyway, we were going to get the gems back anyways." She suddenly stared into the distance and pinched her chin in thought, "But the question is how…"

Kind of taken back by Roxie's eagerness, Dipper scratched his head, "Uh, I know Gideon seems like your average creepy moron but don't underestimate him. It'll be better if just me and Mabel go."

"Sure it will." She rolled her eyes, "You were ready for me to tag along earlier when I wanted to get home first. Is this some version of reverse psychology?"

"No, but -"

"So you want me to go with you."

"Or maybe he doesn't so that you will;" Mabel offered, "But if it's reversed then he does want your help but then that'll mean he doesn't and if we're including Opposite Day in this, then maybe that means that no one is going but that means we will go and… Wait, is it Opposite Day? When's the next blue moon…?"

"It's not Opposite Day!" Dipper cried in exasperation.

Mabel wagged her finger at him knowingly, "So it _is_ Opposite Day?"

Dipper face-palmed, "Fine… We're all going."

"So does that mean -"

"We're all going!" he repeated at his smug looking twin. Mabel balled a fist and held it before Roxie who bumped it in return with her own pint-sized fist. Dipper sighed, "But we've got to sneak in tomorrow and find out what's going on; or else we might not have enough time to stop it before the show."

"How're we going to do that?" Mabel asked, "Remember, you did say that we wouldn't get caught."

"And we won't." Dipper said confidently, even if he was doubtful on the inside, "It'll just take some planning. I'll have it all worked out by morning."

The brunette looked sceptical, "This isn't going to be one of those over-complicated list thingies, right?"

"Uh… no…"

Roxie smirked, "Put the pen down, Dippy."

"Fine." Dipper huffed and returned the pen to the box on the shelf and ignored the pile of paper that was calling to him, "I'll still have a plan though, even if it takes all night from memorising it because I can't write it down."

* * *

And even though he may have been a little over-dramatic with saying that it'll take all night, it was still pretty late by the time Dipper settled down to sleep, a whole plan formed and ready. As far as he could tell, Mabel was fast asleep and Roxie was curled up in his overturned cap again. That was invitation enough for a peaceful decent into slumber. Under the blanket and head on pillow, he wondered if there had even _been_ a family for Roxie to miss. It all seemed a little too coincidental. And the fact that when she asked to come along and possibly use the crystals, she'd used the phrase 'make me your size'; not something like 'normal size' or 'my size'. Again, he was leaning towards the inhuman quality that she just might have. Well, she was stuck with them for a while, he didn't understand her continuing the secrecy. And he didn't understand what that noise was either.

Weird, he was sure that he had just closed his eyes for a second, but when he sat up now, the sky was a lot darker than before and the chilly night was lingering in the air. He blinked the tiredness away and peered into the gloom. Yep, Mabel was sprawled out in her bed with an arm dangling over the edge of the mattress; he could see the goose-bumps from across the room. Shivering slightly, he tiptoed across the wooden floor and tucked his sisters arm back into the warmth before turning to head back into sleep again. But he paused. There was that sound again. Like a sniff, but muffled and further away. Eyes quickly adjusting to the dark, Dipper chose to follow it out of the bedroom and into the hallway. It was a little louder here, but only faintly.

A milky triangle stretched across the hall where the moon shone through the triangular window. But Dipper noticed that there was a small shadow interrupting it, and the noise seemed to be coming from it. Gritting his teeth, he braved a step forward, then another and another until he could make out what it was. And when he did, part of him wanted to turn around and leave. Yet, he stayed. Roxie was perched on the windowsill, knees pulled under her chin and tears streaming down her cheeks. Her tiny form was shuddering from her sobbing that she was trying desperately to hide. Dipper scratched the back of his head anxiously. He didn't want to just stand there; he'd comforted Mabel enough times but it was easy to give a sister a hug; giving one to a four inch tall girl with anger issues was a little trickier and kind of inappropriate considering they didn't even see eye to eye. At one point he was going to attempt a simple pat on the back but that would either knock her out or start up the pain in her spine again.

"Uh, so about you being okay; how's that working out for you?" he offered.

She jarred in surprise at his sudden appearance and glared at him, swatting her tears away, "Go on, rub it in."

"I'm not! I just -"

"Save it…" she sighed, turning back to face the outside world. She hadn't been able to keep this in for much longer. Her prayers for a solitary night where she could let off steam had been ignored. Of course she wasn't okay, she never had been, "Did you feel like this when your parents dumped you here?"

Dipper leant an elbow on the sill and his chin in his palm, "I wasn't happy about it…"

"That's the thing, when summer's over you get to go home and go back to normal; this summer will just be those weeks of adventure and fun. That's what I thought this was going to be. I wanted some fun and then get to go back. And this really hasn't been that much fun and… I still don't get to go home at the end of it…"

Not really knowing how to react to this, he figured some kind of comfort was in order. Choosing to take a chance, he gingerly curved his free hand behind her to pat her back lightly. However, she glanced at the gesture and instead leant backwards so that her head rested against the base of his thumb and her back was comfortably supported by his palm. Dipper swallowed at the uncharacteristic vulnerability and figured there wasn't much harm in softly smoothing her hair with the tip of his thumb.

"They left me…" she mumbled, another tear slipping away, "I didn't even know they could do that…"

"They can't." Dipper tried, but felt like it was a stupid thing to say considering that they had; "They shouldn't." Feeling a little guilty for speculating that her family might have been made up, he cleared his throat, "Do you know where they would have gone?"

"Who cares, this is the last time they try it." At his quizzical look, she looked away in shame, "You know I said my siblings were jerks? That's kinda because they've tried ditching me before, even at home. I just never thought my parents would be in on it too."

Did this mean she'd always been this size? Or was it that her family really were just that cruel? He didn't feel it the appropriate time to ask. Instead, he straightened up, "Well, sitting here isn't fixing anything."

Getting used to handling her, Dipper used the hand that she was nestled in to scoop her up and carry her back into the shared bedroom. At first he was going to put her back into the cap to sleep, but from experience with Mabel, he knew that girls just didn't stop talking so easy. Instead, he skilfully lay under the covers in his own bed, laying his occupied hand on the pillow by his head so that he could lay comfortably but still avoid any accusation that he was trying to give her a hint to be quiet.

Roxie felt ashamed for letting herself into this state. Why could he have just let her alone in peace? But no; he just couldn't keep his nose out. No doubt this was an act and he was just looking to fill blanks in his puzzle that he'd created around her. Well, she still wasn't saying anything. She may be on her own now, but a promise was still a promise. Lips were zipped.

"Sitting here isn't fixing anything either." She quipped.

"No, but Mabel doesn't like being alone when she's upset so…" he shrugged under the sheets.

"I'm not Mabel." She sighed, giving in and laying down on her side, curling in his palm to face him, "Maybe being alone is a good thing for me."

Attempting humour, he smirked, "Well you're not the best at being social." At her glare, he swallowed, "Sorry. You never know, they might come back? Maybe they're looking now?"

"Get a clue, Dippy, they're long gone. Just take my word for it, okay; you really don't get it."

"Explaining would be useful."

"Trouble more like. Look, I know I'm not making sense to you but it's for the best. Think of it as plausible deniability."

"Meh, that's never really worked out for me."

"Because you're too nosey for your own good." She replied bluntly, "The way things have turned out, it would have been better if you'd left me to the gnomes…"

Getting a sudden flashback to when the gnomes had attacked them the first time, the moment when Mabel looked like she was giving up, anger flared inside of him, "No. That's just stupid, are you crazy? Yeah things are bad but believe me, there's been a lot worse and knowing our luck will probably _be_ a lot worse too. So, lets just move on okay, there's a lot more around the corner so tripping now is just pointless."

Wanting to kick himself for practically spewing every cliché out there, Dipper forced his face into determination. But it was true, she needed to snap out of this. Sneaking into Gideon's tent tomorrow wasn't going to be easy, they needed their wits about them. Sure, this sucked for her, but if she really wanted to help and get to human size, then she'd have to quit feeling sorry for herself. There was an awkward pause where Roxie just lay there, studying him. Part of her wanted to rant at his insensitivity, but the bigger half was agreeing with him. As soon as this was over, she'd find them all. She'd remind them exactly who she was. She wouldn't be forgotten again. And she'd be able to look them in the eye when she clarified it.

To Dipper's surprise, Roxie gave a half-smile, "You know, Mabel's pretty lucky having a big bro like you."

He cringed, "Would you believe that _she's_ the older twin…"

"Seriously?"

Sensing an opportunity to put a smile back on her face, he shrugged, "You know what she's like, she was the excitable one right from the start and couldn't wait to get out; and then me, always the cautious but heck, I had to go make sure she was okay, right?"

Roxie chuckled in spite of herself, rubbing away the last of the dampness in her eyes, "Makes sense when you put it like that." Her eyes closed and she curled up tighter in the curve of his hand. A yawn escaped her. Why was she so tired all of a sudden? Those tears really took it out of her.

Feeling that they'd strayed a little, and that she was too tired to get upset again, Dipper cleared his throat, "You never know what's around the corner, things can sometimes turn out pretty good"

Eyes getting heavier, she nodded absentmindedly, "I guess." She yawned again and smiled softly in her half-asleep state, "Thanks… Dipper…"

It took a second for it to sink in that she hadn't used the normally insulting nickname. Turning his head on the pillow to give her a sceptical look, he found that she was already asleep. He arched an eyebrow, but softened his expression all the same. She looked so lost with her head resting on the inside of his fingers and body curled up in the pit of his hand. Dipper didn't really feel comfortable having her unconscious in his care when he was eager to catch some winks himself. Slowly angling himself, he tried to lift his hand so that he could direct her back into her makeshift bed on the desk, but the second he moved, she started stirring in protest. Light sleeper, she had warned him.

He sighed, "Huh… Have it your way."

Dipper snuggled down into comfort, angling on his side to stop the arm that was holding Roxie from going numb without moving her. He ended up facing her, feeling slightly inclined to lightly flick a strand of hair out of her face and did so. With his free hand, the blanket was hoisted up to his shoulders, the corner hitched further so that it could cover the extra occupant. Out of reflex, Roxie subconsciously grabbed for the sheet and nuzzled into it, and into the grove of Dippers hand in the process. Dipper went to sleep with the lamp still on, wanting to ensure that should he awaken in the night, he'd be able to make sure that she was okay. Okay for real this time.

**NZTMRUBRMT TOZHH HVVH ZOO**

**A/N:**

**I did warn you about the fluff, but that's all it is, innocent comforting fluff that just had to get out of the way. So, what's the plans for getting into the Tent? What's in store? Wait and see! Until next time folks! Don't forget to review! XD**


	7. Beyond Enemy Lines

**A/N:**

**Code Answer: Magnifying Glass Sees All **

Roxie shook her self awake in confusion as she didn't feel the usual mixture of hat and sweater fabric beneath her. Instead she felt something smooth and warm. Her eyes opened and she instantly felt both embarrassment and anger at the recognition of where she was. She face-palmed and pushed herself up; did she seriously fall asleep in Dipper's hand? And after getting so worked up too… She didn't normally get upset, there was no point in it because it didn't get anything done or help in anyway. She guessed that because it was something alien to her, it must have really tired her out. But she was infuriated with herself for appearing so weak and falling to sleep right there probably halfway through a conversation. You know what, she thought, I don't care, I've got nothing to prove to them so if they don't bring it up neither will I.

She shuffled over the sleeping boys fingers and slid down the pillow and onto the main sheets of the bed, using the crease down the side of the mattress to shimmy down to the floor. Part of her wanted to find a way back up to the desk and get more sleep, but a larger part was telling her to go out and explore. After all, she'd been in this place for two nights and the only place she'd seen was the attic bedroom was the kitchen table. This was called the Mystery Shack after all; a tourist trap, and with or without her family, she was still a tourist. So why not take a look around while everyone's asleep and then be back in time for the big plan unveiling for Gideon.

It seemed pretty quiet out in the hallway, but even Roxie understood that the stairs were not going to be on her side. Slumping her shoulders, she refused to give in so easily. Remembering the last time she'd attempted to get out of this place a smirk started to appear on her face at the sight of the gap in the wall. Within a matter of minutes, she was flicking away a leftover leaf from her front at the bottom of the drainpipe. That, she could put up with; what she didn't like was the sudden realisation that now she had to find a way onto the decking and back into the building to actually _see_ the attractions.

"This is a great start to the day." She huffed, kind of wishing that she'd just gone back to sleep.

She made a run and jump, managing to grab the top of the first step and kicking her legs to hoist herself up. Panting for breath, her foot slipped at the last minute and she dropped back onto the ground. She flexed her fingers and prepared for another try.

"Need a hand there, squirt-dudette?"

"I can manage." She snapped, taking a leap and just grabbing the top of the step again.

Suddenly, Roxie froze in mid-climb. That wasn't a voice she knew. It was low with a twang that she couldn't place. With the utmost caution, she turned her head and looked up at her observer. It was a he for starters, and tall even for her perspective. And a little on the larger side with the question mark on his green shirt stretched slightly. Under his cap, the guy wore a quizzical expression with just the slightest hint of overbite at his mouth. In honesty, he didn't look threatening despite his size, but he was unknown to Roxie and that was enough. She found herself dropping down again and flattening herself against the step, sending shudders of pain in her wounds. The man picked up on her unease and simply nodded at her while raising a hand in greeting.

"Sup."

* * *

Dipper awoke and found himself empty handed which in honesty didn't bother him that much. In fact he was pleased that Roxie had the sense to go back onto the desk in the night. That is, he would be pleased, if Roxie was actually on the desk. He sat up and scanned the room, she couldn't have gone that far, right? While his sister slept, Dipper swiftly got dressed before casually tossing a pillow at her head to wake her up. Mabel grumbled and swatted it away, sitting up and opening one eye lazily.

"What, did the invisible wizard come back?"

"No, but the tiny terror has gone missing again." he retorted.

"Relax brother, I've got a simple way to fix this. _Marco_!" Mabel called, cupping her hands around her mouth to increase her already natural volume.

Dipper arched an eyebrow, "Mabel, I really doubt that's gonna -"

"_Polo!_"

The twins turned their heads to the doorway, Mabel giving Dipper a quick smug nod firstly. But in a split second, both expressions turned to confusion. Although they were sure that it was Roxie who'd replied to the gaming call, it was Soos who stood before them. Mabel gave a gleeful wave which contrasted greatly to Dipper's suppressed look of anxiousness. Now he liked Soos and he had really dug them out of a lot of trouble in the past, but he was still uneasy about people knowing of Roxie's existence. Even if it was a friend.

"Hey Soos!" Mabel announced.

"Sup, Hambone?" Soos replied.

Dipper darted his eyes around the room; Roxie was playing a dangerous game here, "Hey, man, uh… You're here early."

"Yeah, Mr. Pines wanted me to look around the stock room before he opened up. Already done." He shrugged, "It is definitely a stock room."

"I knew it!" Mabel grinned.

"So uh, what brings you here?" Dipper asked casually. Where was she? She'd be the first to complain if she was found out, and knowing his luck it would be him getting the blame.

Soos had a sudden look of realisation, "Oh yeah, I found your friend."

He bowed his head slightly and revealed a very sly, if slightly wary, looking Roxie holding on tight to the top of his cap. She shifted forward so that she was sitting on the stiff brim up front. "Morning!" she smirked.

"But… You…" Dipper stuttered.

"I wanted to take a look around." She shot defensively, "Soos' been showing me around."

"I kinda figured she'd have something to do with you two." The adult explain knowingly, "Most weird stuff does."

"I'll try not to take offense to that…" Roxie arched an eyebrow.

"What happened to not wanting to be seen?" Dipper challenged, his twin rolling his eyes.

"It wasn't part of the plan but things happen and I was starting to get cabin fever in this room." Roxie folded her arms and rolled her eyes, "Can't blame a girl for trying. I can't always rely on you gigantors to bail me out all the time so I went out alone. You've got some strange stuff down there."

"Are you still believing that you're the normal one around here?" Dipper asked, hands on hips at her refusal to see the blatant truth that it was her that was odd in this picture; but kind of glad to see her witty nature returning after last night.

She narrowed her eyes, "It's my coping mechanism, Dippy, let me have this one…"

Mabel shoved her brother playfully, "Yeah, I let you think that I'm the side-sick around here."

Soos tilted his head, "Dude, you're name's Dippy? And here I've been calling you Dipper all this time!"

Dipper sighed, so we're back to Dippy now are we? Great… "But- Wait, who keeps saying I'm the side-kick?" He demanded before turning to the largest and smallest of the company, "And for the last time, it's _Dipper_."

The girls exchanged smug glances; the smaller clapped her hands together, "Either way; what's the plan for sneaking into Grady's sideshow?"

"Gideon." Mabel corrected, tipping the cap so that Roxie could scoot over onto her hand instead and returning the headgear to its owner.

"You say creep, I say weirdo." Roxie shrugged, "Do we have a plan or are we winging it?"

"Huh, wining it has never really worked out for us in the past." Dipper scratched his neck sheepishly.

"But it is fun sometimes in a last resort." Mabel added with a grin.

Soos chuckled, "Ah like that one time…" she paused as he reminisced to himself.

Roxie decided that she liked this guy. He was a little docile it seemed but was just all around likable. In fact she couldn't believe her luck that it was him who'd found her instead of this 'Grunkle' she'd heard about. But still, time was running out and although she figured that Gideon was not her personal enemy, she still didn't like the sound of him and wanted to get out and actually do something. She caught Dipper's eye and made a movement with her hands to urge him on. He seemed to get the message and was kind of grateful for it too.

"Okay, by the look of the flyer, we've only got until tomorrow night before the 'show' as Gideon puts it." He started, using his fingers for air-quotes, "So that really doesn't give us much time."

"Dun-dun-_dunn_!" Mabel sounded for dramatic effect.

Soos snapped from his daze and folded his arms expectantly, "In need of an ally with a get-away vehicle?"

Dipper smiled gratefully, "As always, Soos, as always."

* * *

In the end, they chose to park a block down the road from the Tent of Telepathy to be on the safe side. On the way, Roxie was slightly thrown off by how little Soos questioned the situation. Granted Mabel and Dipper had explained themselves pretty clearly, and from the sound of it Soos had been involved with some of the other weird stuff around here; but it was still unusual. Yet, she kind of liked it. At least he was just going with it instead of accusing her of being some form of wild creature. And by the looks of things like her, Soos didn't want to be left out of an adventure. But although she wouldn't admit it, Roxie had another reason for getting into the Tent. And it had a lot to do with those mysterious crystals she'd heard so much about. She was just thankful no one had mentioned her sudden eagerness to cooperate.

"So you all know the plan, right?" Dipper asked as they were removing their seatbelts.

"Sneak in, look around, maybe grab some stuff and get out." Roxie replied deadpan from the dashboard, "You seriously spent half the night coming up with that?"

Mabel smirked and held out her hand to be the source of transport for the little friend, "Nah you wait, this'll just be the basic draft."

Almost deaf to his twins comment, Dipper started fishing in his pocket, pulling out an elaborately folded piece of paper, "Well if you're asking for more detail, I've got a step guide here…"

Soos arched an eyebrow, "Hey, dude, you're right!" he looked at Mabel, "You're like psychic or something."

As Mabel grinned, Roxie looked sceptical, "More like Dippy's predictable."

Dipper flashed her a warning look before turning to Soos, "Thanks, man; if we're not back in fifteen minutes -"

"Do the responsible adult thing and call the police or Mr. Pines." Soos nodded in understanding.

"Uh, actually I was gonna say come in after us."

"Either way works fine." Mabel added passively.

Soos gave a thumbs up, "You got it, dudes."

* * *

They snuck their way through the partially wooded area that led to the infamous Tent. Roxie had to admit that this place looked a lot more flashy and inviting than the Shack, but it didn't have the natural charm and came across as intimidating. Kind of fitting really… Dipper felt a shudder. He hated this place and if he could get away right now then he would without a second glance. But it needed to be done. The crystals go missing and now Gideon's got something planned; it was all too coincidental. It was in everyone's best interests if they could get in there and put a stop to whatever was going on in there. Everyone may not believe anything he said, but that didn't mean they needed to be put in danger just so he could be proved right.

The group ducked behind the back of the tent and listened out for any signs of life. It has hard to press their ears against a fabric wall and everything just sounded muffled. Mabel thought it kind of sounded like the fuzzy noise when you're adjusting the radio; either that or the sound you get when you muffle pillows over your head. She noticed Roxie trying to get her attention and point to the base of the wall.

"Let me take a look."

As Mabel started to lower her down, Dipper arched an eyebrow, "And if someone's there?"

"Then I'll give you time to pick me up before we make a run for it." She shot back.

Mabel beamed, "Awesome-sauce."

Roxie smirked and continued to lift the fabric wall of the tent and ducked under. Inside the air was heavily perfumed with a mixture of hairspray and sickly cologne. This must be backstage. The room was large even by her standards. But she had to admit, it was one heck of a dressing room. To the left was a door that she presumed led out to the stage, shelves and cabinets dotted around the room. A large desk with a colossal mirror rimmed with light bulbs stood centre-right and was littered with bottles of product. If Roxie didn't know any better, she would have thought that it had belonged to a finicky _actress_ or something.

"All clear." She explained, taking a few steps ahead to avoid the scrambling twins as they pushed themselves into the room, "This guy really takes his appearance seriously doesn't he?"

"No." Mabel shook her head, "He takes it ridiculously."

"Can't argue there." Dipper nodded, taking in the room with determination, "Now lets search this place before someone shows up."

Roxie arched an eyebrow, "You guys are a bad influence; before I met you, the worst thing I ever did was steal a cookie one time. Now look, breaking an entering with a getaway car parked out front."

"Morals are a powerful thing." Mabel nodded in understanding, putting on her most sincere face. Not that it lasted long, "Not as much as the _Power of Mabel_ but that's another thing."

Dipper opened a draw in the desk and searched through it, "What about with friends in school or something?"

"Home-schooled."

"Convenient."

"Boring!" Mabel argued.

"Well they didn't have a place for me in Creature-Feature-Education-Station." She shot back sarcastically, "Now if you want to find your jewellery so bad then keep looking, Dippy, if you want to complete that classy outfit."

Dipper shot her a glare, making Mabel snicker. It had never occurred to her to turn the size-altering gems could be used as jewellery, it was a temping idea but if it was ever a really sunny day then that could end in disaster. But they'd be so pretty with her glitter-rainbow sweater! No, no, it would be a bad idea. A bad… very sparkly… but _bad _idea. Maybe that's what made Gideon's so shiny and rock solid? It kind of made sense. And if that was the case, then that just made him all the more evil… and weirdly sparkly for a boy.

While Roxie took up the unfortunate and dusty job of searching under desks and cabinets, the twins were searching through all the nooks and crannies of everything above ankle level. All they found were more hair products, some costumes and other cheap looking gimmicks for the stage. There really wasn't anything of value here. They were starting to worry that it had been a waste of trip. There just had to be something here! The Tent was only small, there was literally only enough room for the stage area and this dressing room. Where was Gideon hiding the crystals! If they weren't around here, then where the heck were they? The 'show' as he called it was tomorrow. They didn't have much time left at all.

Roxie was getting anxious, if they couldn't find those gems then her plans were going down the drain, "Are you sure that Gideon has those things?"

"Who else would have them?" Dipper asked.

"When it comes to collecting weirdo conspiracy stuffs, he's worse than Dipper."

"Pretty much. Wait-Hey!" he snapped, pausing his searching through a trinket box he found in a cabinet. His fingers brushed against something smooth, "Hey…"

He pulled it out and held it up to the light. It looked like a simple magnifying glass with a bronze handle and a golden strip around the glass. He held it up to his eye and scanned the room curiously. It didn't alter the depth perception in any way, it didn't even magnify his own hand when he waved it before him.

"What'd you find?" Mabel asked. Upon seeing it she felt the need to add an appropriate nickname, "…Sherlock Dipps!"

"Let's take a look." Roxie asked, giving Mabel the indication to lift her up onto the dresser surface at the base of the mirror.

Dipper shrugged, "Just some magnifying glass." He held it up to his eye once more and looked at her; instantly he blinked in shock, "Or not…"

Where the rest of the room looked pretty normal, Roxie however, didn't. As she stood there, she remained unaware of the grey aura that surrounded her. It looked like a fog was latching itself to her limbs and body, snaking around her. Dipper arched an eyebrow in confusion and manoeuvred his view towards his sister. She waved excitable, but there was no outline around her. It was just Mabel. Moving back to Roxie, he clarified that this misty glow was solely focussed on her. She folded her arms quizzically.

"What?"

Not sure how to describe it, Dipper tilted his head, "Uh…"

"Shhh!" Mabel clamped her hand over her brothers' mouth, "I hear something."

Everyone fell silent as they heard approaching footsteps and a very angered southern accent, "I told you I wanted my suit in a pastel baby blue! Not baby blue pastel! They're two different things, old man!"

"Gideon!" Mabel whispered, hopping from foot to foot in nervousness.

There weren't many places to hide in here. And the only places worth hiding were inside the closet or in one of the cabinets, and those were places where someone was likely to look. There wasn't time to make a run for it. The group gritted their teeth in panic. The door handle started to turn. Great, Roxie thought, what now?

**URMZOOB, WRKKVI WLVH GSV IVHVZIXS**

**A/N:**

**I figured Soos is always a good character to have around, I just hope I wrote him in character XD So what's going to happen next and what's up with the magnifying glass? Lets wait and see!**


	8. Phone calls, dorks and permission

**A/N:**

**Code Answer: Finally, Dipper does the research**

**I'm so sorry for the long wait, but I had a lot of work on; and I was also kind of waiting to see if I could get more than one review for the last chapter. Please review, I miss hearing you guys XD**

Dipper gritted his teeth in panic. Normally when he and Mabel were tapped by a villain they at least had the chance to find something trap-worthy first of all. The magnifying glass felt suddenly heavy in his hand. Was this something that Gideon would miss? It had looked pretty weird when he aimed it at Roxie. But now wasn't the time to think on it. Now was the time to hide before that little lunatic walks in and finds them trespassing. Oh no, Mabel had touched the hairsprays, they were doomed!

"What's the plan now, Dippy?" Roxie snapped, "Because it's going great so far!"

"What do we do?" Mabel whispered, shaking Dipper by the shoulders and then taking the magnifying glass from him, holding it to the door, "How does this thing work?" she waved it around, "Invisibility activate!"

The door handle started to turn. Dipper darted his eyes around the room, any hiding place will do right now! He shoved his sister away and pointed at the desk where there was a large cupboard fitted at the bottom, "Hide in there! Roxie you… hide!"

Before she could reply with her planned sarcasm of 'wow, I wish I'd thought of that'; Dipper had backed into the wardrobe and was pushing the glittered suits in front of him, closing the door on himself. Mabel gave a whimper of unease before acting on instinct and grabbing Roxie around the middle, lifting her up and scrambling inside the cupboard. Finally, bringing her legs up to her chin, Mabel released the small passenger on the top of her knee so that her hand was free to close the door and wrap her arms around herself to stop shaking. Roxie stood and tried to listen to what was happening outside, but it was difficult with the magnifying glass in Mabel's hand bumping against her every so often. Suddenly, the sound of the lock on the dressing room door click out of place.

Gideon stormed into the room and slammed the door behind him, "Stupid door, always jamming! Nothing ever goes right in this confounded dump!" he muttered irritably, glaring around the room, eyes resting on the cabinet, "And I told that old man not to touch my hairsprays, there's an organisation method!"

His pudgy hands reached onto the desk and started rearranging the cans so that the labels stuck outward and they were in alphabetical order. Nothing was going right around here lately. And the least thing he needed was someone coming in here and touching his stuff. Wait… Someone had touched his stuff. Now there were some rules that even his father doesn't cross. So who had? And why was there an empty trinket box laying on the desk? No, where was it! His narrowed eyes turned cold, examining the room. Suddenly, his eyes settled on the cupboard, and how the door was open ever so slightly.

"Well what have we here?"

Inside the cramped storage space, Mabel and Roxie could see through the slither of an opening at the shadow of Gideon's hand reaching closer. Mabel clamped her hand over her mouth. Why was it so difficult to close a door from the inside when the handle was on the outside? It was as if the manufacturers didn't take into account mystery solving kids who desperately needed a hiding space from psychotic previously psychic children scam-artists with vendettas against the mystery solving kids! Really, that should be taken note of when building a good desk. Hey, that could be a new hobby; building spy-friendly desks!

She shook herself. This wasn't really the time the think about that! Heck, she wouldn't even _get_ the chance to think about it if she was caught now. Roxie had now grabbed the glass of the looking piece for support, mentally preparing herself to make a run for it if need be. Gideon was just about to grab the handle when he was interrupted by a sudden series of vibrations and the shrill, or in his opinion, delightful tine of his shows theme, _Lil' Ol' Me _coming from his breast pocket. The music made the boy suddenly forget what he was going and shimmy a little in the vanity of hearing his own song before answering to it with a sickly sweet voice.

"Hello?" he paused to listen to the caller and instantly his eyes narrowed and his voice turned harsh, "What is it this time?"

From the closet, Dipper acted out breathing a sigh of relief, but not daring to act on it for hear of jinxing their luck any more than it already was. Talk about saved by the bell; or in this case saved by the cheesy ego-boost. He hoped Mabel and Roxie were okay in there. Man, all the glitter in these clothes were itching like crazy! Agh, he thought while trying not to move, it's in my eyes!

"You imbecile! I practically gift wrapped them for you, how can there be difficulties?"

Dipper paused and dared to shift a little closer to the door to press his ear against the wood. What was being gift wrapped? What was going on?

Gideon continued, dimpled face twisting in anger, "I gave you one thing to do! Can't you get that right? Now what am I gonna do for the show tomorrow?" he drummed his fingers in irritation, making the wood above Mabel and Roxie's head echo, "No, don't do anything else! I'm coming down there myself. And they had better be sparkling by the time I do, I want the light to pass through without any interruptions." Another pause while his contact spoke, "No, I'll bring them back here tonight ready for the show. After you little mistake I'm not leaving them with you again!"

He pushed his chair backwards and got to his feet. Out of panic, Mabel once again reacted on instinct and held the magnifying glass in act of defence. Roxie rolled her eyes, but found that she still wasn't breathing. And now she had a curved glass shoved in front of her face. Like that is really going to do anything useful. They listened carefully as the enemy stomped his feet as he left the room. The fabric walls of the tent shook as the door slammed behind him. Dipper tumbled from the wardrobe and opened the cupboard to release his twin.

"So what was that all about?" Roxie asked, slightly annoyed that she was being grabbed at again as Mabel shifted out into the open.

Dipper scratched the back of his head, "I don't know. But think about it; the show he keeps talking about, the secrecy, he wants the light to pass through something; it all adds up!"

"He must be having some really trouble with his window cleaners." Mabel shook her head and placed Roxie on the desk once more.

"Mabel…" Dipper groaned in exasperation.

She prodded him with the looking glass, "I'm kidding!"

"So this goes back to those stone things I'm guessing?" Roxie folded her arms.

"Size-altering crystals." Dipper corrected, "And yes, without a doubt."

"So what do we do?" Mabel asked.

Dipper thought for a moment, trying to fix a plan together in his head, but since the one he'd made prior had been interrupted he was completely thrown off. He needed time to figure things out. To prepare.

"We go back to the Shack and see if we can find anymore information on the crystals." And the magnifying glass, he added mentally, "Then we can find a way to counteract them in case we come across them later."

"Later?" Roxie asked.

He nodded, "You heard what he said. He'd bringing them back here and most likely leaving them. As soon as he heads home, they're ours!"

She nodded and wrapped her arms around herself, "Sooner the better…"

* * *

By the time Soos had driven them back to the Shack, Mabel was pretty sure that Dipper's head was going to pop from overworking itself. All the way home he'd been spouting out possibilities of what Gideon had planned as well as some own idea's of how to stop him and always coming to the same conclusion: he would make sense of it after looking through the journal. Mabel was also sure that Roxie's mouth was going to seal shut from how thin her lips were pressed together. She didn't get it; when she or Dipper were confused they didn't stop talking because really it had to be better saying the problem out loud to that more people can join in to help out. But Roxie just kept quiet. And she didn't look confused, more annoyed. Hmm, Mabel pondered, maybe she's irritated at the unfriendly spy-factor in furniture too.

But no, from her perch on Dipper's shoulder, Roxie was in deep thought. But she wouldn't voice her reasons, she needed them thinking that she had the same aim as them for now. And even if her main goal wasn't exactly what they had in mind, it still wasn't going to affect them. It was just something she had to do… And in some sense, Dipper was thinking the same thing. Stopping Gideon was something he had to do, and he hoped he would know how pretty soon. But as soon as they walked into the Shack, it seemed that fate didn't want his mood to improve.

"Hey doofus, hows it going?" Wendy asked playfully from behind the counter.

"Oh, uh, hey Wendy! Great, thanks, yeah uh… Hi!"

Roxie stepped back and made a jump so that she was hidden at the back of Dipper's cap. They boy tried to hide a blush at the teen, but he quickly darkened at the sight of a second teen in the room. The older boy promptly draped an arm over Wendy's shoulders and smiled wryly, "Kid."

"Robbie." Dipper replied curtly.

Mabel sensed her twins change in mood and gave him a light nudge. Wendy gave a half smile, "What's up? Not on another ghost hunt, I don't think my mind can take another blow like that again!"

"Uh, actually, it's – uh -"

Robbie cut him off with a harsh laugh, "Please! Like he'd go looking for that stuff again. Anyways, babe, I'd be there to protect you again."

Dipper felt his blood boil, "If I remember correctly, you were off cowering somewhere while I took care of the ghosts."

"Pfft, so you say. But I'm the one -"

Wendy rolled her eyes, "Cool it guys, you know I hate seeing my boys argue."

Robbie gave a light tug to pull her closer to him, all the while glaring at Dipper, "Sure thing, babe, no problem."

She glanced at her watch and sighed, "Well, my shifts over. I'll see you around."

"Yeah, I'll, uh, see you…"

The twins watched Wendy leave, Robbie practically glued to her hip and smiling smugly. As the door closed behind them, Roxie shimmied from her hiding place, she noticed Dipper had his fists clenched and had an unhealthy looking twitch in his eyes, "What's up with you, Romeo?"

He narrowed his eyes, "Nothing."

Mabel sighed and took it upon herself to explain the situation, "Robbie is Wendy's 'B.F' and Dipper's mortal enemy." She said, using her fingers for air quotes.

"Mabel!" Dipper warned, really not wanting to get into it.

"What? He is! Just like he's also a jerk-face."

His shoulders slumped, making Roxie sway uneasily. For a second, she caught sight of his expression; dejected and a little miffed, "Oh come on, Dippy, don't make a big deal out of it, you'll get your shot."

Half expecting a sarcastic shot, he blinked, "Huh?"

In fact, Roxie had planned on sarcasm, but even though it would have been all to easy to poke fun at the jealous and love-struck boy, it was all the more fun moving onto a new target. The older boy, Robbie or whatever his name was, he seemed so conceited it was laughable! And the way he'd treated that chick like an accessory, she was surprised he hadn't used handcuffs or something to chain them together!

"Trust me, you've got nothing to worry about with that dork."

Never hearing anyone call Robbie a dork before, Dipper's interest tweaked, "Really?"

"Sure, if the older guy who already has the girl is still trying to scare off a twelve-year-old; then clearly he's too insecure to be in a relationship for long. You'll get your shot."

Slightly deflated by the reminder that Robbie was in fact older and _did_ have Wendy, Dipper still gave a light smile at the prospect of the relationship going nowhere, "Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

Remembering the first time they'd exchanged gratitude back when he saved her from falling, he smirked, "I won't."

* * *

Dipper flicked the pages of the journal in frustration. Time had passed considerably since he'd started his research and yet he'd found nothing. There was no mention of the magnifying glass and every creature he looked at bared no resemblance to Roxie. And putting the two together of why there was a misty aura around her when viewed through the glass may as well had been something he dreamed up for all the answers he was getting. He'd looked at fairies, but they were scaly creatures that fed off the dreams of children; brownies, but they were meant to be helpful and sweet so that counted Roxie out right away; Sprites were mostly associated with elements like water and fire and Imps were… Dipper hesitated and backtracked.

_Imps: These humanoid creatures take many forms after much breeding with other creatures like Fairies, Sprites and Brownies; often inheriting wings, scaled skin, gills and pointed features. Much like Fairies and Sprites, these creatures are known for their free spirit and mischievous nature and are often referred to as having been spawned from demons. They are normally pretty harmless and are extremely difficult to find, they do not like human company and will only attack when threatened. If in danger the Imp will attack and make up for their small size with wit and trickery. Weakness: Imps can be trapped inside objects using the correct ritual; they are also known to having a strange reaction to overexposure to iron. I shall elaborate on these findings later…_

Dipper flicked through the pages rapidly, "Come on! Elaborate, _elaborate_!"

But there were no elaborations. He wondered if the author of the book had actually put this theory to the test. The idea made him shudder, but even he couldn't cover his own slight curiosity. So did this mean that Roxie was an Imp? That explained the stumps on her back. They could either be leftover wings like he first suspected; or maybe they were some tricked out gills that were just weirdly placed. As far as he could tell there weren't any scales and her ears seemed pretty human. But it did explain her size too. But why did she claim to be human? And why was she so interested in finding the gems if she had never seen them before? Was that the 'mischievous' part of her nature? It didn't quite make sense…

"You can cross that off your list right now."

Dipper grunted in surprise and snapped the book shut, turning to see a sceptical looking Roxie next to him on the desk in the attic bedroom, "I, uh, thought you were with Mabel?"

"I was. But she's making cupcakes and I'd rather not fall into the mixture for a third time thanks." To prove a point she flicked some cream from her hair, "Can I see the book?"

"It's kind of personal." He shrugged apologetically, "But you know, if you just let me take a closer look I might -"

"You mean with that magnifying glass you found?"

He cringed, "You know about that?"

"Mabel was waving it around like a lightsaber back there, it was kind of hard not to my reflection in it. And before you ask, I don't know why I look like a black and white sketch in it either." She glanced at the book in his hands and scoffed, "But I do know that I'm not an _Imp_, how lame can you get?"

"Well, it wouldn't be the strangest thing I've seen around here." Dipper reasoned, "But you never know, it might give you some answers too if you let me examine -."

"I'm not a test subject, Dipper; you can go fill the blank pages of your book with some other specimen." Roxie shot back.

"Calm down, I never said that!" he rolled his eyes, "Please, just to cross out the theory?"

She huffed, having learnt that his persistence wasn't going to wear off any time soon, "If I say yes then will you get off my back?"

His eyes lit up, "Theoretically, yes."

Liking the possibility of shutting him up, she sarcastically spread her arms, "Then examine away, Doc…"

**SRMG: HSV RH MLG ZM RNK**

**A/N:**

**Don't forget to review please! I kind of need ideas for there this is going, lol, I mean I have an idea, but not big ones… XD**


	9. Home Truths

**A/N:**

**Code Answer: Hint: she is not an Imp**

**Thanks for the reviews guys! Loves you loads! XD**

Roxie was getting really tired of this. She had been standing on the desk for who knows how long while Dipper peered at her through the magnifying glass and commenting on how it gave her the look of a black and white movie. As if they didn't know that already! And if he held up a picture of a creature from that book up to her for comparison one more time she was going to set it on fire. Granted she'd have to get a match first and then struggle to light the thing… come to think of it is was just too much hassle.

Dipper on the other hand wasn't complaining at all. He had been waiting for this opportunity since he'd come across the _short_ tempered girl. Things just didn't add up with her. Her size that apparently had nothing to do with the crystals; the family that are human and yet abandon her at the first opportunity; her sudden change in attitude; the magnifying glass; the scars on her back… This girl could not be human! On the other end of the scale once again, Mabel had to roll her eyes at both her twin and friend at their stubbornness. She didn't really care if Roxie was human or not, even if it was tilting towards the latter. And as for Dipper, well Mabel was kind of glad that he was getting back to his old self instead of just sitting around being boring, but also a little tired of hearing his conspiracies over and over again… Best just have another muffin.

"Weird, the grey mist stuff seems to cloud more around the marks and fade out to a white…" Dipper muttered, flicking through the pages once more.

"Grey mist stuff?" Roxie scoffed, "Good analysis Doctor Dippy."

Mabel sniggered a little before sighing and collapsing onto her bed, "How long is this going to take?"

"Until Dippy can label me as something that most likely doesn't exist."

Ignoring her twins scowl, Mabel continued, "The mist stuff sounds creepy, do you feel cold?"

A shrug, "Nope. I feel pretty average. _Normal_, in fact."

Dipper caught onto the hint and paused in research, "If you were normal, then technically you wouldn't be here right now."

"Technically, you brought me here."

"_Pfft!_ Details, schme-tails!" Mabel smirked, getting bored again and moving to scan through the closet to pick her sweater for the next day.

Roxie huffed and tried to get a peek at the brittle pages of the journal, but her examiner was quicker to the punch and lifted it a little higher. Choosing to avoid what would be a bitter and slightly awkward situation, Roxie turned to Mabel once more. "Sorry, Mabel, but I've got to ask; why do you wear sweaters in the _summer_?"

She scoffed and spread her arms to show of the elaborate pattern of a grinning fish munching on a bag of chips, "Because they're awesome!"

Roxie over at the open closet where hundreds more bright sweaters awaited, "I can't argue with you there. Does that mean you wear tank tops in the winter?"

"_Pfft_, no that'd be ridiculous!" she replied with a chuckle.

"Mabel's always had a much lower body temperature than normal." Dipper explained, "Me on the other hand has always been a little warmer than average."

Roxie rolled her eyes, "Don't go calling yourself hot, Dippy, it's not a good quality."

Dipper scowled which just made Mabel's laughing increase, "Oh, burn!" She paused and looked out towards the door, "Burn… Burning… Muffins are burning!"

"You just made some." Her twin noted.

"I made _more_!"

The two watched as she sprinted from the room in a panic. Dipper snapped the book shut and placed it down, "I'd better give her a hand, before she roasts _hers_… again."

Roxie waved her hand passively as he left. She wanted him gone for a while, now she could stop feeling like a test subject and like herself again. She was positive that it was only a matter of time before the boy pulled out the scalpel. What exactly was he expecting to find? She didn't know why the looking glass had that affect on her and she didn't exactly care. All she wanted to do was find those infamous crystals and… Well, she had her reasons.

As did the twins on their reasons for thier assumptions of her come to think of it. Roxie glanced at the journal that was set next to her. Just what were those reasons? What did they expect from her? Curiosity taking over her, she started turning the pages, lifting them over her head and forcing them aside. She felt disgusted at the images inside. Bug-eyed creatures with fangs and scaled skin, wings that forced their way through the beings back in jagged angles. Some small, others large; all deadly. Is that what they thought she was? No. They were way off. This was not only insulting, but unnerving. Then she came across something else; a large print in red, determined to stand out on the aged page. _Trust no one_.

Roxie became aware of the presence behind her and didn't bother turning around, "Is that why you have such an issue with me?" she asked, casually stepping backwards away from the book, "Because a book tells you so?"

A hand leaned over her to close the cover harshly, "Hey, that book's saved mine and Mabel's life on more than one occasion so excuse me for following directions."

She turned to glare up at him, wishing that she was big enough to look him in the eye directly, "Well, in case you haven't noticed, I'm not in the book! So man up and make your own opinions!"

"Are you guys fighting again?" Mabel asked, poking her head around the doorway, steaming muffin in hand, "Do I have to make you sit on separate sides of the room again?"

Ignoring her, Dipper continued, "Don't take it so personal! I just… I don't trust anything until I can understand it."

"I'm a girl; you're going to have to get over _that_ mission of understanding."

Mabel sniggered, "She's got you there, bro."

"But she's not just a girl, Mabel! She's a creature in this book somewhere, the creepy magnifying glass proves it and until I find out what she is then -"

He was cut of my something bouncing off of his cheek; startling him and making his arms swat the air involuntarily. However, it turned out that it was an eraser thrown at full force by Roxie whose red cheeks and rapid blinking indicated that she was either going to lunge and start clawing him or she was going to cry. But at the moment, she did neither. Instead, she just calmly turned her back on him.

"I'm not a _creature_…" she muttered, "I'm, well, I'm…"

"Stuttering?" Mabel offered sympathetically.

"No, well, yes, uh… I'm human. Pure blood human. Born and raised. Human!" she snapped, glaring at the pair, "You go around with your mystery façade but you forget that maybe you can come across someone human who's just a little weird or something! Jeez, you're so quick to judge!"

Dipper blinked, "Humans aren't normally so… you know." He lifted his thumb and forefinger to indicate her height.

"And you said you haven't been near the crystals." Mabel mumbled in confusion.

"And your family just happen to vanish? It's a lie, right?" Dipper asked, sounding a lot harsher than he meant to and feeling a little guilty.

"I never lied though!" Roxie, attempting to rest her hand on his knuckle, but he pulled away, "I do have a family; a mom, dad, little brother and a big sis. I _was_ here visiting family with them before all this happened. They _are_ human; I just…"

"Left out the detail that _you_ weren't." he finished for her.

Mabel furrowed her brow in concentration, "So… how does that work? Or is this one of those 'tell you when you're older' things?" she asked using her fingers or air quotes.

Roxie figured that she was going to get more acceptance from Mabel than Dipper, so she focussed her attention on her, "I am human, or at least I'm ninety-nine percent sure I am. We were visiting family down these parts when my sister took me for a walk in the woods for an adventure. I was just a little kid, about two or three maybe? Apparently my sister didn't like me very much at the time and let me wonder off on my own." She swallowed, "When they found me I was like this…"

"Awe! You got to stay their little girl forever!" Mabel cooed.

"You could say that…"

"Wait a minute, back up a second. How do you remember all this?"

"I don't, it's what my parent told me. Why would they lie? And… it's easier to believe them then it is looking at all the stuff you think I might be and feeling more of a freak then I already am."

"Did they say anything else?" Mabel asked gently.

"No. And it's been all cover-ups and hiding ever since." She shifted and couldn't look at either of them in the eye, "And when you guys found me, you seemed to know a lot about all the weird stuff around here and seemed really eager to, well, diagnose me or something. And then when my family left I figured that it was a chance for me to get my own life back. So when you mentioned the crystals again I thought, well, they would help me."

"So…"

"So she used us, Mabel." Dipper clarified harshly, he altered his voice in mockery, "_Sure, I'll stick around and let you guys study me when actually I'm just hitching a free holiday and get other people to do all the work for me and find out how to be human again!"_

Mabel wagged her finger at him, "Her voice isn't that high-pitched, you scallywag." She turned to Roxie, "But… if that is a basic summary I can't say I like it too much."

Roxie shook her head desperately, "No, it's not like that at all! I didn't say anything because I didn't think you'd believe me; and it's not like you tell me the full truth either!" she indicated to the book again.

Dipper put his hands on his hips, "Don't twist this around on me; you didn't have to stay if we were that bad!"

"Every time I tried to leave, you brought me back!"

"I asked and you said yes!"

"Take a look at me and then take a look out there! I was terrified! Of course I said yes! You said you'd help me!"

"Uh, again, you're trying to twist this around on me."

"I'm not! I never lied, I only left out a back-story that counted for nothing; I didn't want to know what I am, I just wanted to go home."

"Then go on, no one's stopping you this time."

"Oh, just like that? You've solved the mystery and now you're done?"

Silence, an awkward and horrible silence.

"Fine, guess this is goodbye then. _Thanks _for the help."

Mabel had listened to all of this with a nervous chew on her lips, not liking the tone coming from either of them. But now, as Roxie started descending the desk via the lamp wire, she swallowed nervously, "You don't have to leave, right Dipper?" When her brother didn't answer, she tried again, "Come on, Roxie, you two bicker all the time, why's this different?" she forced grin fell slightly, "You can always pretend we don't know, right? I pretend that I don't know I wore the same sweater twice last year! And we can still help with the crystals!" Still no reply, "But, I was going to show you the Ducktective omnibus tonight…"

Roxie had reached the door by this point and figured that it wasn't Mabel who deserved the cold shoulder here. So she turned her head slightly and smiled apologetically, "Sorry; I really am."

"But.. Where're you going?" Mabel asked, tilting her head slightly.

Roxie didn't stop, neither did she turn her head when answering, "Out. Where all the other _creatures_ are." She was too small to slam to the door, but giving it a forceful hit with her fist felt just as satisfactory; and true to her word, she walked out.

Dipper felt a pang of guilt, but refused to act upon it. She was overreacting! He'd only said the truth, he couldn't be blamed for that. Sure he thought that at times Roxie was okay but that still didn't stop the fact that there were too many oddities about her for her to be human, and that made her untrustable. Sure there were parts of her story that he could believe, but it was still pretty far fetched. Wasn't it? Well wasn't most of the stuff around here? But still… There was no sense in being guilt tripped into going after her, so he just picked up the book and lay back on his bed, continuing his research. Or at least he was trying to, but the scowl that Mabel was giving him was practically burning a hole in his head.

"What?"

"Don't be a jerk, Dipper, go apologize."

"For what?"

"For calling her names! What'd she ever do to you?"

"Mabel, all I said was my opinions and she didn't waste anytime saying hers. If she can't take it and wants to live in denial then that's her choice."

"Dipper."

"Come on, she'll be back in like, two minutes. You've seen those little legs," he moved two fingers along the top of the book to symbol a person walking, "she won't even make it down the stairs."

Mabel looked out towards the door. He had a point, and maybe she could do with some time to calm down. Poor girl, no wonder she didn't want to say anything. Mabel couldn't imagine going through that, although being given candy would have been epic! But that wasn't the point really. The point was that Roxie really did have her reasons, and they may not add up for everything about her, it still explained some stuff… No wonder she wanted to help find the crystals so much. Mabel paused in thought. The crystals. She widened her eyes and started shaking her twin by the shoulders.

"Dipper!"

"_Agh_! What?"

"Roxie wants the crystals!"

"Yes, yeah I got that." He replied, gently prising her from him, "But they're not getting to Gideon's tent until tonight."

"Yeah! And Roxie wants them!"

"So?"

She tugged at her hair in frustration, "Dipper, keep up! She knows where they're going to be, and she wants to use them, and Gideon will be around too. Add it up!"

Dipper cocked his head. No, surely she wouldn't… He sighed and dragged his palm down his face, "We're going to have to stop her, aren't we?"

Thankful that he'd gotten the message, Mabel dragged him out into the hallway. But Roxie had long since vanished. Once again, that crack in the wall leading out onto the drainpipe had come in very useful for a quick escape. And Roxie had taken full advantage of it.

**UFNZM. YFG GUV HXZIH ZMW TOZHH YVT GL WRUUVI **

**A/N:**

**What trouble have they gotten into this time? Keep the reviews coming folks, let's see if we can get up to 3 this time, lol XD**


	10. Luck Is In Short Supply

**A/N:**

**Code Answer: Human. But the scars and glass beg to differ.**

**Thanks again for the reviews, we made it to 3, yay! Keep it up guys! Not many chapters to go now, so let's see how this thing ends, lol XD**

"Roxie!" Mabel called into the trees, crouching down to peer under roots and rocks, "Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

Dipper didn't fully understand why they had to be out here looking for her. Sure he'd been a little harsh back there but she'd given her best shot too. And if she wanted to go and get herself into trouble then let her! After all it wasn't as if he himself as been tempting fate when he and Mabel went on adventures. They got out okay on their own, Roxie could too. And she'd been using them! She was freeloading to get her own way! And yet… if her story was true, then she really shouldn't be out on her own. And from what he'd seen so far, no doubt she'd be needed them sooner or later. Dipper hated the mixed feeling of guilt and anger. He just wanted this whole business to be over and done with!

"I don't get it, how can she move so quickly?" Dipper mumbled, careful to watch where he was stepping during his brisk strides, "Surely she isn't seriously going through with this? We don't even know if she's going there!"

Mabel weaved her fingers through a shrub and scanned inside, "She wants the crystals and Gideon will have them at some point today, what would you do?"

The journal felt heavy in his inside of his jacket. Ignoring the hint of smugness in his twins look, he huffed, "To the Tent is it then. I saw that one coming."

"You still needed me to point it out though."

"Not now, Mabel," he face-palmed, "Let's just keep moving."

"No problem." She grinned, showing off her jazz hands for s second before rushing off to follow her brother into the wilderness, "Do you think Gideon will find her?"

"If she's smart then she won't let him." He answered, "But from what we've seen since moving here, who can say?"

She chewed at the inside of her cheek nervously, "Saying that she's not going to get caught won't work will it."

"When has that ever -" Dipper cut himself off when his twins anxious face became clear. He exhaled slowly and put a hand on her shoulder, "Well give it a try, like I said, who can say?"

A small smile pulled at her mouth, "She's not going to get caught and it's all going to turn out great."

Returning the smile in spite of himself, he nodded, "Then let's go make sure that comes true, okay?"

"Okay!" she grinned, grabbing him by the collar of his jacket and pulling him along, "Let's go! Mabelzilla and Dipper-Droid to the rescue!"

* * *

Roxie hopped over a stray twig in her path and battled on through the undergrowth. Part of her registered that she must be tired by now, after all she had leapt and scrambled through most of the woodland by this point. But she didn't care. Anger urged her onwards. The marks on her back stung harshly, Again, she refused to cry openly, but it was hard to contain a few stray tears slipping away as she blinked rapidly. How dare they judge her like that again! She had told them the truth. Yeah, if someone had told her that story then it would be a little far-fetched but that's what happened. Her parent's told her so. Why would they lie?

But it didn't matter now? Right now all that mattered was getting back to that Tent and get those gems. Heck, even just one gem would do! She had a point to prove. She had her own life to live. And yet, there was that small pang of guilt curdled in the pit of her stomach. Okay, so maybe she was using them to get to the crystals, but she never intended it out of spite or anything like that! They just wouldn't understand. She didn't even fully understand it herself. For now she was winging it.

Did she even know where she was going? Barely. But the sounds of subtle car engines and occasional chatter, she guessed she was getting close to her destination. Dirt and moss grabbed at her and had fast turned her clothes a light tan from dust. Sweat poured down her face, but she was oblivious to it. That Gideon weirdo was bringing the gems back to the Tent for tomorrows show, that's what he'd said. So she just had to get there and wait. And as soon as she'd gotten what she wanted…. She promised that she'd go back and help them. Sure she was mad at them, Dipper mostly, but still, they had helped her out a lot. Why shouldn't she return the favour?

Feeling a stitch forming in her side, Roxie finally stopped running and leant against a rock for support, gasping for air. How long had she run for? How far had she come? She had no idea, but she hoped that she was getting close. From what she could see, the outskirts of the forests seemed livelier than the heart. And that reassured her oddly enough. It was easier to stay alert in the chatter of life instead of the silence that deafened you. For a second, she allowed herself to slide down the rock to sit among the grass, closing her eyes and trying to figure out a plan. If she managed to get into the tent, all she'd have to do is wait until Gideon returned with the crystals, grab one and get the heck out! Of course, if things went in her favour then she might be able to use one on Gideon. She could almost picture the look on the twin's face when they saw that she'd done half their job for them.

Getting to her feet and opening her eyes with a determined smile, Roxie agreed that after all the bad that had happened recently, things were bound to go her way sooner rather than later. Taking a step forward, her front suddenly smacked into something solid. Stumbling, she blinked away the daze and reached out a hand. A transparent barrier curved around her, leaving a circled dent in the grass. Her breath clouded before her. Glass. Tensing in panic, Roxie span around and looked up. A wry smile beneath perfectly shaped platinum hair bore down on her, a chubby hand gripping the jaw that now held her captive. Pressing herself against the wall, the cold glass stinging her scars through her jacket. Okay, she thought, so my luck will come around later… hopefully…

* * *

"Well, well, what do we have here?"

Roxie cringed at his sickly sweet voice that echoed along the inside of the jar. The container had been placed on its side with the lid removed, but she refused to step out of it, keeping firmly out of reach. As far as she could tell, he had taken her back to the Tent's dressing room. That's one step in the right direction, she thought, but about a hundred back again…

"I'm not a what, Gideon, I'm a who!" she snapped.

A devilish sneer, "You know me? Not really surprising, but, I digress. So it must have been _you_ who was sneaking around here?" Suddenly, the jar lurched as he tipped it forward, forcing Roxie to slide out harshly onto the desk surface, "What have you done with the looking glass?"

She winced from the scraped knee's she'd just received and got to her feet, "What's so important about it?"

The minute she spoke, they both knew that she had given something away, "So… where are you hiding it? A ditty thing like you can't have gotten far with it, not without help anyway!" he turned the lamp around so that it burned over her, making her flinch from the brightness, "Now _tell_ me what you are and what you've done with my property!"

"I haven't done anything with it!" she snapped, refusing to answer the species question for the millionth time that week, "Why don't you tell me what you've got planned with the crystals and the show tomorrow?"

The boy narrowed his eyes and pinched the hood of her jacket, lifting her high above the ground to his eye level. Granted it wasn't that far considering his height, but for her size it was more than enough. She winced at the tug on her hair that was also trapped between his finger and thumb, kicking furiously. The base of her jacket was hoisted up slightly, showing off the unhealed scars on her back. At this, Gideon found his interests peeked. He twisted her around for a closer look.

"And how did that happen?" he asked knowingly.

Not wanting to admit that she didn't really know, she turned her head and glared at him, "None off your business!"

Gideon deliberately kept her positioned so that she could not see him and reached into the draw under the desk. Flipping open the false bottom, he started to flick through the pages of a certain treasure of his. A book, labelled simply with the number 2. Seconds later, he found what he was looking for. Snapping the book and draw shut, she span Roxie around to face him again.

"What were you doing?" she asked, trying her best to cover her unease. All she'd heard was a rustle of pages and wood sliding on wood. And she didn't like it.

"Not of your business." He quoted mockingly, "But I'm making you my business, _Adhene_!"

"Uh… gesundheit?"

"Oh don't play dumb with me! You Manx are all the same no matter what category you fall under! You're trickery won't work here."

"What are you talking about, you lunatic?" she yelled.

He regarded her for a moment with a giggle of excitement, "Oh, well isn't this just an extra apple in the pie?"

"And what's that supposed to mean?" she asked cautiously.

So, Gideon mused to himself, she has no idea… Gently, he replaced her on the desk, "Ah now, you see I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot here! It seems you're lost on the wrong side of town, now how did that happen? Tell lil' ol' me all about it, sugar."

Taken back by his sudden kindness, Roxie instinctively took a step away from him. She wasn't fooled for a second, "Took a wrong turn."

He tutted, "Poor thing, and you've been looking for the crystals because…?"

"Maybe it's the same reason you want to use them in your show?" she offered innocently, "Which is; by the way?"

"Ah just a little tourist attraction, nothing to worry you're little head about." He waved a hand passively, "It puts the audience in a whole new perspective before leaving with a whole new experience! Something to tell the grandkids, ya know?"

It was like listening to a commercial, "That's it? You change their sized for an attraction and let them out scot-free?"

"Well my business wouldn't achieve much if all my customers were captives now, would it?" he scoffed.

Well, that was true. But was that seriously it? Roxie had heard of this boys stupidity and lack of preparation, but this was ridiculous. He had the opportunity to take total control with those crystals in hand and yet he was only interested in increasing his popularity! Oh, on second thoughts that sounded about right. And why the sudden hospitable attitude? What had he called her? Oh no, he was another paranormal nut just like the twins, perfect! But she wasn't really interested in that right now, she knew what she was and little names weren't interesting her. What she was interested in was where the gems were and how to get out of here with them But seriously, a stupid _tourist_ attraction?

"But Dipper said -"

Although Roxie had mumbled that, she was positive he had heard and clamped her hands over her mouth at her own idiocy. So lost in her thoughts that she'd forgotten to watch her mouth. Gideon smirked cruelly, fists balling in anticipation.

"Dipper? The Pines family?" he chuckled, "My, why didn't I see this one coming before? Imagine, my second chance at getting my revenge and it was all thanks to a -"

"Don't even go there! She snapped in what she hoped was a threatening voice.

Once again, Gideon took a twisted enjoyment of lifting her into the air again, "I don't plan on going anywhere. In fact, I think you're interfering friends will come right to me. After all, they'd be worried about their mascot."

Her legs kicked out pointlessly, "I'm no mascot, you creep! And they don't even know I'm here! Put me down! Let go!"

Ignoring her, the smug boy stood up and travelled over to the wooden cabinet on the side of the dressing room, glass squares set into the door revealed an assortment of trinkets and containers, each as elaborately patterned as the last. With his free hand, he opened it and opened a large trinket box that was strikingly similar to the one that had held the magnifying glass previously. He opened it and dropped her inside, slamming the lid closed.

Roxie stood and tried to force the roof of her prison open, but her heart sank as she heard the unnerving click of a lock sealing. The only slither of light came from the keyhole before her. She pressed her face against it to peer out, "You're not getting away with this! Whatever this is!"

"Just shut up and sit back, Adhene filth, and enjoy the backstage performance!"

The fabric walls of the back of the tent ruffled slightly, joined by the faint hushed voices. Roxie froze. They were awfully familiar voices. Oh no, they didn't! They did… Gideon flashed her a wicked grin and backed away and out of sight, deliberately closing the cabinet tight. She couldn't see where he was hidden, and that made it all the worse. No guys, she begged, don't come in here!

"I'll go in and check it out, I'll give you the signal when it's clear." Dipper's voice whispered.

"What's the signal? Oh, how about a blue-jay call?" Mabel asked gleefully.

"Who knows how to make a blue-jay call?" he replied with exasperation.

"I do…"

"I'll just call for you, deal?"

"Sure, if you want to do it the _boring_ way…"

Roxie chewed her lip nervously as Dipper's head peeked under the tent anxiously and slowly started to crawl inside. He scanned the area and tip-toed further into the room. Slowly, he was further enough into the dressing-room that he was almost touching the cabinet. Roxie pounded her fists against the walls of her prison and desperately called out to anyone who could hear her. She pressed her face against the keyhole and scanned the miniscule view of the outside. Dipper was right there, just inches away.

"Dippy! Dipper in here! You need to get out!"

Why couldn't he hear her? Slowly, she watched as he leant a little closer and sighed in annoyance. A mist swarmed in front of her and just as swiftly evaporated. Just like that, it hit her. The box she was in was placed in a cabinet, glass panels set in the doors. He couldn't hear her from there! But that didn't stop her. Roxie started slamming her shoulders against the wood, hoping to make the box move in some way; that might get his attention.

A cold chill made her freeze as she noticed something bright and perfectly shaped move behind the boy. A quiff of platinum blond hair was edging its way closer. For a split second, a wry grin flashed into view only to sneakily vanish again. Gideon. Desperation was taking over. Roxie started screaming out to Dipper, her arm bruising from the effort she was making.

"Behind you, Dipper!" she cried, "Gideon's behind you! Turn around you idiot! Turn around!" She cupped her hands around her mouth and pressed against the keyhole, "Dipper, turn around!"

But it was too late, just as Dipper looked up and flinched in surprise at the eye glaring desperately at him through keyhole in a trinket box, he found himself blinded by a florescent pink haze. It coated him like a blanket, sending an uncomfortable feeling of pins-and-needles through his body. Eyes clenched shut in protection from the light, he felt something solid grip him around the middle harshly, forcing the air out of him. And before he could open his eyes to see his attacker; Dipper felt himself falling.

**NZYVOAROOZ GL GSV IVHCFV!**

**A/N:**

**Oh no! What's going to happen next? Wait and see folks, don't forget to review! XD**


	11. Lil' Ol' Us

**A/N:**

**Code Answer: Mabelzilla to the Rescue!**

The landing was a lot softer than he anticipated. His eyes cracked open a little just in time to see the roof above him slam shut in darkness. The only source of light was from a small, oddly-shaped hole in the wall. Wow, this room was so small, he thought to himself, and what's with the fall? Don't tell me Gideon's got some secret underground tomb for intruders? Nah that was ridiculous… but not impossible…

"Get off."

Dipper flinched at the muffled growl. He looked down to see that the soft landing had been given by a girlish figure. The mass of mousy hair was instantly recognised and he jumped to his feet in panic. Just as he opened his mouth to apologise, after all landing on someone her size in comparison to his must be painful if fatal, when something clicked inside his head… She was the same size as him…

"Roxie? That's you, right?"

She allowed him to help her up, but snatched herself away as soon as she was steady, "Oh I'm sorry, did you mean to land on someone else?"

"Huh? No, I just…" he paused, scanning her from head to toe, "What's going on here?"

Looking irritated, Roxie pushed past him to peer through the hole in the wall, "Oh lets see; Gideon is using the crystals just for an _attraction_ not some evil plan! He's doing a _very_ good impression of you by analysing me and you have just fallen for the biggest' I'm right behind you' trick in the book!" she took a breath and turned to face him while throwing her arms out sarcastically, "So welcome to the Captured Crusade, we've been expecting you!"

He blinked, taking in the information with growing dread, "Can you repeat that last part?"

Roxie took a step closer to the boy and moved her hands between them to compare heights, which now only has the difference of him being an inch (theoretically speaking) or so taller than her, "Figure it out."

Dipper furrowed his brow. He thought back to the blinding pink light that had covered him, the tight vice-grip around him and the fall… "Oh you've got to be kidding me!"

"Ding-ding, we have a winner." She rolled her eyes.

"Why didn't you yell or warn me or something?" he groaned.

Roxie glared at him and swiftly shot out her hand and smacked him upside his head, knocking the cap to the floor, "You're an idiot, you know that, Dippy?"

Dipper clenched his fists but didn't respond out of pure annoyance. He ignored her and replaced his cap, taking a turn peeking though the keyhole. Gideon was nowhere to be found, lurking out of sight like a shark. An attraction, seriously? Wow, he thought, I was way off, I should really stop jumping to conclusions… not that Gideon helps that though. Shrunk again, why? This was insane! What was that creep going to gain from it? Oh yeah, he was still on that whole revenge thing, right? Perfect… He reached up and jumped, slamming his hands against the lid of the box, but it was stuck tight. His hands felt along the inside of the lock for any sign of altering it. Typically, it was useless.

"Dipper," Roxie muttered, quieter this time. The use of his regular name instead of her altered version took him by surprise so he looked over his shoulder at her. She swallowed, "What about Mabel?"

He understood the need to keep quiet, if Gideon overheard anything now then he might use it against them, "She'll be okay, I told her not to come in until I call for her. So… realistically there's about a fifty-five percent chance she'll listen to me."

"At least that's a little over half marks."

Roxie hated this. It reminded her of the hundreds of times her siblings used to do this kind of stuff like some sick game. Sometimes she would even wake up to find herself inside a watch case or even inside a locked jewellery box like this. She never understood why they did it, but it wasn't like her parents ever really punished them for it. The walls looked so dark and threatening, like they were going to close in any moment. Her arms wrapped around herself slightly and she subtly tried to lean into a corner without coming across as scared. Fear was pointless, it wasn't going to get them anywhere.

"You look a lot different close up." Dipper commented, noticing the hint of worry in her eyes.

She scoffed, "Yeah well, I must look different when you're not peering at me through a colour-blind magnifying glass. Which, by the way, _he_ is seriously miffed at about you taking."

"Well that means it means something," Dipper muttered, taking said object from his pocket and holding it up to his eye.

Once again, the grey aura clouded around Roxie's body, darkening considerably behind here were he remembered the scars were. His hand lifted to scratch his head, travelling into the glass' viewpoint. He jumped in awe, holding his hand before him. The mist was also clinging to him. He examined his torso and legs, the grey clouds faint but still very visible around him. At Roxie's questioning looks, he handed the trinket to her. She followed suit and lifted it to her eye, tilting her head in confusion. She didn't keep it long, handing it back and stepping back into the corner.

"Weird as anything else around here…" she mumbled.

"What's that all about?" Dipper wondered aloud, "Hmm… I didn't start showing that until after the stones were- Hey!" he snapped his fingers, "It picks up on the stuff that's been affected by the crystals! But, that doesn't really explain why yours is darker than mine, mostly around your marks. Unless they pick up on oddities anyway…" he trailed off when he saw that her eyes were closed, "Uh, you okay there?"

Roxie chewed her lip, picturing that she was outside somewhere with wide open spaces, open air, anywhere but here, "I'm fine." She forced through gritted teeth, "Just… keep talking. Uh, you wouldn't happen to know what an Adhene is, do you?" Her voice was rushed, hoping for a distraction from the dark, "Something to do with a Manx, anything like that?"

Taken aback slightly, he pulled out the now miniscule journal and skimmed through it, "Uh… it doesn't go into detail, just that Manx are a type of sprite… um, and here it says that there're different kinds of Manx, Adhene being one of them. That's pretty much it, so the guy must have written about it elsewhere… Why?"

"It's nothing."

"Roxie, you ,uh, don't look so good."

"Sure, because you look great right now." she sighed. It's not musky wooden air you're breathing, she told herself, it's fresh air from outside, "Outside…"

"Huh?" Dipper arched an eyebrow. What was up with her? The way she was hunched slightly, eyes shut and muttering, it was like she wanted a distraction, trying to make herself smaller than she already was. That was strange, even for her. Suddenly, after some thought, it hit him, "Roxie, uh, are you, uh, claustrophobic?"

The girl snapped her eyes open to glare at him, "It's just space, why would I be scared of space?"

He raised his palms in defence, "Calm down I-"

"Never tell a girl to calm down, Dippy, it never works!"

"Okay, okay!" he nodded, blinking in shock at her sudden heavy breathing. Gingerly, he braved a step forward and debated putting a hand on her shoulder but chose against it, "We're going to get out, alright?"

"I know we are, I'd just prefer it to happen sooner than later."

"You and me both." Swallowing his pride and lightly patted her shoulder. It felt so freaky being the same height as her, he'd only just found a system of comfort for her when she was smaller than him, now this was just throwing him off. "Just keep looking through to keyhole and take a breath, got it?"

Nodding a little, she allowed him to guide her to the opening. She leant her forehead against the cool metal and inhaled the slightly cleaner air from the dressing room, keeping her eyes on the other side of the room and the distance between. Admittedly, she felt a little better, but not as much as she would if she really was outside.

"How's that?" he asked, a little unsure of what to do now.

"Okay, I guess." She muttered sheepishly.

"Good." He muttered, adjusting his hat, "Great."

"Mmm-hmmm…" Before he could reply, she tensed again, "Uh, you know you said there was about a fifty-five percent chance of Mabel listening to you?"

He didn't like where this was going and was already dragging his hand down his face, "Yeah… That's lowered, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, lowered by _exactly_ fifty-five percent."

"Great…"

* * *

Mabel had grown tired of waiting out on the grass. Her skirt was getting damp from the ground and frankly it was just boring. What was taking him so long? She huffed, don't tell me he's found some goggles that turn things blue or something like that! Sometimes Mabel thought that her twin was like a puppy; one little thing dashes past him and he's got to run off and investigate. And coming from Mabel, that was saying something.

She lay on her stomach and lifted the bottom of the tent wall up a fraction, peering inside and grinning when she saw the coast was clear. Rolling over a few times, she ended up inside the dressing room on her back. Stealth-mode-Mabel, she mused, keeping perfectly still and scanning the room, and roll to the side again, coast still clear! She jumped to her feet and crouched behind the desk, checking the room for a third time.

"Dipper? Roxie?" she half-whispered, and when that didn't work, "_Marco_?"

"Polo… I win."

Mabel turned at the southern voice twisted into pretence of welcoming and just managed to throw herself out of the way just as a beam of pink light shot out towards her. Inches away, a forgotten comb was coated in the light and instantly closed in on itself so that it was no bigger than her fingernail. Gideon loomed over her, twirling a crystal between his fingers. Behind him on the desk was a large woven bag, more of the sparkling gems poking out from the top. She jaw slacked in awe, she'd never seen so many together before! But if he had them and was using them… She bit her lip. Now it made sense why Dipper was out of sight.

"You haven't won _anything_ you cheat!" she snapped, "What've you done with Dipper and Roxie?"

"Why Mabel, what did I ever do to you that gave you such an ill impression of me?" he chuckled.

She got to her feet with narrowed eyes, "How about you forced me into dates, nearly killed my brother, shrunk and kidnapped us and now you're doing it again?"

"Oh those old chestnuts?" he waved his hand passively, aiming the gem again, "Let's not be so short-sighted, Mabel."

Mabel let out a cry of effort as she ducked the beam once more, nearly crashing into the dressing table. The bottles of product rattled in protest, some spilling on the floor and rolling in all directions. Gideon smirked and held the crystal up to the light, a thin pink strip pointed downwards at the floor. He tilted it slightly so that the light crept threateningly along the floor ever closer to her feet. Mabel flattened against the desk, looking for a way out of this. She couldn't just run, there was nowhere to go without getting caught outside too. And she would never make it under the wall and into the open in time before getting zapped. And she'd never leave without Dipper or Roxie. Of course she could just let herself get hit, at least then she'd find out where they were, but that was stupid. Not to mention she'd have to let that creep pick her up. She cringed, bleugh!

"Finally, with you two out of the way, it'll only be a matter of time before Stanford comes a-looking for ya! And then, once he's taken care of, the Shack will be mine!" he cackled.

"That didn't work the first time, what makes you think it'll work now?" Mabel demanded, cheeks darkening in frustration, "You're not getting away with this you jerk-face!"

"Enough with the sweet-talk, darlin', now it's _down _to business."

The beam darted upwards and Mabel was forced to clamber onto the dressing table to avoid it. Taking a chance, she leapt over to the other side of the room, landing awkwardly and tumbling into the cabinet against the wall. The wall shook slightly, making the objects inside tremble. Extremely faint and muffled yells sounded from inside. Dipper? Roxie? It must be! But right then, Mabel couldn't take too much notice. Instead she was looking to see what she had landed on and gritted her teeth in irritation. It was a fallen hairspray can.

"And with you and your entire family in my control, nothing's getting in the way of you being my queen!"

Not this again! "Gideon, I will never be -" She cut herself off as an idea skipped across her mind. Subtly, she reached for the can and hid it in the baggy sleeve of her jumper. Straightening up, she batted her eyes at the boy and giggled sweetly, "I will never be happier until I'm your queen."

Inside the box, Dipper and Roxie exchanged a look, what was Mabel doing? Was she insane? Dipper called out to his twin, but they apparently fell on deaf ears. They watched in awed panic as she braved up to the confused yet cautious boy. She flicked her hair slightly and batted her eyes again, keeping her hands behind her back. Gideon blinked in surprise.

"Excuse me?"

"You're excused, silly!" she giggled, "Thinking about it, I guess I've been a bit quick to blame in all this, you were just doing what you thought what right, right?"

"That's right…" he cocked his head warily.

"So, you know," she adjusted his lapel one-handed with a shy smile, "Maybe I'd be willing to forgive you…"

By just a fraction, Gideon lowered his arm baring the crystal, a hopeful glint in his eyes, "Is this another trick? Or, are you serious?"

"Well…" she grinned. Suddenly, her smile vanished and she glared at him, pulling out the can of hairspray and shooting the nozzle in his face, "What do you think you phoney?"

Gideon cried out in pain at the chemicals in his eyes and out of shock dropped the crystal. Mabel caught it and pushed the boy aside, grabbing the sack of gems and spilling them over the floor. Her foot lifted and she thought of all the trouble these things had caused. No, she thought with a nod, not anymore. Mabel crushed the gems until they lay in shattered shards strewn across the floor. She jumped on the spot for added effect. As each one broke, the colour drained from them as the magic spilled away. From the commotion, there was a faint sound of shifting and footsteps from the next room.

"Uh, son, is everything alright in there?"

* * *

Mabel squeaked in panic, Gideon was still trying to blink away the spray from his burning eyes. In a brief moment of guilt, she scanned over the can's label. _Non-toxic, if sprayed in eyes, wash out within one hour. _Oh, that's okay then, he's still got fifty-eight minutes left. Ignoring the boy, she swiftly forced open the cabinet door and listened carefully. Dead centre, a small trinket-box was shifting slightly, muffled voices calling out from inside. In the keyhole, two pairs of eyes were fighting for a view. Grinning, Mabel picked it up carefully and clutched it to her chest, skidding to the floor as she ran so that she slid easily under the wall of the tent and out into the open. Behind her, the sounds of Gideon echoed out angrily at his father. Not that Mabel was paying much attention, she was already sprinting off into the woods, not stopping until she was sure they were a safe distance away. Carefully, she sat the box down atop a boulder and removed one of her hairpins and crouched down to examine the lock.

Inside, Dipper ducked just in time to avoid the thick metal strip jabbing him in the eye. The pair waited eagerly, silently begging for the lid to open. Dipper gave Roxie a nod of encouragement to which she simply shrugged, but also flashing a hint of gratitude in a smile. Suddenly, there was the sound of a satisfying snap and the lid sprang open. Fresh, summer air washed over them and they actually let out a half sigh-half laugh at the feel of it. Mabel grinned at them.

"Who da alpha-twin?" she asked smugly.

"You, without a doubt." Roxie beamed, scrambling from the prison and loving the feel of smooth rock beneath her.

"Well I wouldn't go that far." Dipper shrugged.

Mabel playfully tousled his head with her pinkie finger, "There's no denying the height difference now, Dipper, alpha-twin wins again!"

He swatted her away and allowed a smirk in spite of himself, "Okay, okay, you get this one. You were great back there."

"I know." She smiled, "But thanks for noticing."

"Modest much?" Roxie asked jokingly.

"Sometimes." Mabel replied with a shrug.

Dipper looked around and suddenly didn't like how darkly the forest loomed over his tiny form, "Uh, why don't we get moving, we've still got to find a way to get those crystals from Gideon before the show tomorrow." And get me back to normal, he added to himself.

"Oh don't worry about that." Mabel scoffed, "That plan went to pieces, literally!"

He froze, "You didn't…"

Roxie and he exchanged a look before looking up at their saviour worriedly. Mabel arched an eyebrow in confusion, but then upon looking at her twin again, she saw the problem. "Oh… I kinda did…"

**OZHG XSZKGVI MVCG!**

**A/N:**

**Whoops… What now? Find out next time XD Don't forget to review!**


	12. Oh Grow Up!

**A/N:**

**Code Answer: Last Chapter Next! **

**And here we are, the last chapter…**

Mabel watched her, uh, _little_ brother pace back and fore across the desk in their bedroom. He had the journal in his hands and was skimming through the pages furiously. There had to be some other way of reversing this! There was no way he was living like this. Things didn't work that way in his head. To him, if he wasn't back to normal soon, then it wouldn't be long before something hiding out there would come and cause havoc. Be it a creature of the forest, or something more human like Gideon seeking revenge again. Dang it, there was nothing in here!

"Calm down Dip-"

"Don't tell someone to calm down, Roxie, it never works." He blurted.

Smirking from the irony, she rolled her eyes, "No need to be such a girl about it."

He opened his mouth to argue, but thought against it and clenched his jaw shut. Mabel folded her arms on the desk and rested her head on them so that she was more of less eyelevel with the pair, "Sorry guys, I guess I just got carried away."

Despite disappointment looming inside her, Roxie refused to show it, "Don't beat yourself up about it, better gone then with Gideon, right?"

That earned a weak smile at least. Dipper groaned in annoyance at the logic, book so close to his face that Mabel was positive that it was going to bite his nose off, "Dipper, why not leave the book alone for a minute, just to-"

"I've almost got it." He insisted, "I think if I just manage to figure out what made the crystals work then I could – Hey!"

Mabel had swiftly reached in and pinched the book between her fingers, prising it away from him. However, Dipper wasn't letting go so willingly and clutched the cover desperately, resulting in him being lifted a few inches off of the desk before loosing grip. He plopped back into the desk and scowled up at his twin. Mabel hid a snigger and placed the tiny object on the windowsill high above the desk. "Now take a break." She ordered, with a playful wag of her finger, "It's not good for normal development, you know."

He indicated to himself, "This isn't normal, full stop!"

"Speak for yourself. You want to repeat that at a lower volume?" Roxie asked sceptically, "Or would you rather carry on acting like a hysterical toddler?"

Mabel snapped her fingers, "You know what will cheer everyone up? Ice-cream!"

"Oh, what kind?" Roxie asked.

"Rocky-Road." Mabel beamed.

"Sounds good to me."

Mabel was off like a flash out of the bedroom and down the stairs. Roxie shook her head in amusement at the girl. Sure Roxie felt disappointed and deflated that the realisation that she may be like this forever. She's had plans for using those crystals, or rather just one of them anyway. Was it that much to ask? Well it was too late now anyway. No use crying over crushed crystals. On the other hand…

"Dippy, what do you think you're doing?" she asked monotone from her spot perched comfortably on the edge of a stack of tween magazines owned by Mabel.

Dipper had tried shimmying up the wooden beam fixed into the wall in an attempted to reach the windowsill. However the smooth surface had only allowed his to scoot a few centimetres up before sliding right back down again with a bump onto his rear. That didn't stop him trying again, ending with the same result. Mainly on his end.

"Give it a rest, you're not getting anywhere like that."

He glared at her, "How can you be so… so… _okay_ with all of this?"

She shrugged, "Because I'm _used_ to all of this maybe?"

"But I'm not!"

"No one's asking you to." She snapped, growing more miffed at each word, "But jeez, stop acting like it's the worst thing in the world, so you've lost a few feet in height, what difference does that make to you personally? You're still you, right? I mean obviously your head is still too fat for your body and clearly your knack for making a scene hasn't shrunk!"

"Hey!" he objected, "I think I'm allowed to be a little panicked, here!"

"No one's stopping you."

His fists balled tightly, still not understanding her passivity to the subject, "Yeah, but didn't you want to use the gems yourself?"

"Well sure I did, but now I can't. That's that…"

Shoulders slumping in defeat, he sat himself down on the magazines beside her, but keeping an arms length distance between them, "That doesn't bother you at all?"

Now it was her turn to drop shoulders, "A little."

Finally, some honesty, Dipper thought, "I'm guessing you were going to use them on yourself; but why?"

"That's my business." He stated, looking at her feet.

"Well, it doesn't look like anyone's going anywhere so…" he urged.

That was true, she figured, and it wasn't like her plan was going to work anyways, "It's stupid. But I was going to use them to grow to a normal height and, well, track down my family. Ask them why they left me… and a few other things not worth mentioning."

He gave a half smile, "I wouldn't call that stupid."

"I guess. Coming to find me and getting yourself into this mess, now that was stupid." She paused and tilted her head at him, "Why did you guys come looking for me?"

Dipper adjusted his cap, "Well Mabel was worrying and that's never a good thing so, what could I do? Her and panic don't mesh well so I agreed to help look for you." He cleared his throat, "And you know, chances were if we found you, we'd find the gems so… It seemed like a win-win at the time."

"They always do with you, don't they?" she quipped sarcastically, but covering a smile, "And, as idiotic as it was… I appreciate it."

He blinked in surprise, "Was that a 'thank you'?"

"It's an acknowledgment of what you did." She replied in pretence warning, "But whatever floats your boat."

Trying to extend the rare moment of friendliness between them, Dipper reached over and nudged her shoulders playfully, "You're welcome."

A hiss escaped her as a flicker of pain burned through her shoulder blades and down her back irritating the scars incredibly. Dipper retracted the gesture instantly as Roxie bit her lip in discomfort, "Wow! That's not right!"

No doubt, Dipper noted internally, "Do you, uh, need me to, uh, take a look, or… uh…"

Flashing him an expression of both amusement at his unease and scowl at the offer, she sighed. The pain was horrendous, she needed to know what was wrong this time, "Okay, just don't touch it. They sting enough without you prodding them like a test-subject."

Resenting that, Dipper waited as she got to her feet and hunched over to hitch up the back of her T-short, making sure that the front remained covered. He peered closer at the newly opened marks. They'd changed since last time she'd allowed him to look. Whereas before they looked like simple scars only recently scabbed over, they were now longer and more sore. Two long red strips travelled down either side of her spine like whatever was going on was effecting under her skin. Below her shoulder blades were thicker wounds,, open and looking a little damp, clearly the main cause of discomfort here. But what made Dipper blink in awe was what was happening to the wounds. They were raised slightly, a little blue line just visible in either one, like something was either lodged inside, or trying to push out.

"Now what the heck is -"

"What's got two thumbs and ice-cream?" a cheery voice called from the corridor.

Out of surprise, Dipper instinctively grabbed the base of Roxie's hitched up top and yanked it down to cover herself. She winced in pain as he accidently brushed the marks. Dipper, cheeks flushing slightly, turned to the doorway as his twin bounded into the room, tub of desert under one arm while pointing her thumbs at herself in pride.

"This girl!" she cackled, pulling out three spoons from her sweater pocket, "What did I miss?" In response, Roxie had turned to Dipper with an evil glare and promptly smacked him across the face, making him clutch his cheek in baffled confusion. Mabel blinked in shock for a second, but the brushed it off, "Not much then."

* * *

The giant spoons had been too much to handle for Dipper, so instead he just rested his burning cheek against the smooth metal to sooth the throbbing whereas Roxie was taking comfort from sitting with her back leant against the half eaten tub of ice-cream, the icy condensation numbing the pain in her back. What had Dipper seen before he freaked out? Which hurt more than ductape being ripped on your let, which at her size was s big deal! And why was it all of a sudden hurting so much? Well, like Dipper said, they weren't going anywhere, she had time to figure it out.

"So, why the slap?" Mabel asked.

"Yeah! What she said!" Dipper insisted.

Roxie gave him a warning glance before looking up at Mabel, "Scar's are getting worse and Dippy thought that scraping them with his nails would help…"

"Dipper, I'm no doctor, but that usually makes it worse."

"I didn't-I just-She… Oh forget it." He sighed, but suddenly perked up and pointed at her, "But I was right about her!"

"Is this another conspiracy?" Mabel mumbled from a mouthful of food.

"No, I'm serious! Those aren't normal scars and even for this town."

Getting irritated all over again, Roxie gripped the massive spoon ready for another swing, "Well I'm sure the class is just itching for you to share your findings, Dippy."

"Well, they're getting worse and there's these little bright blue things inside, like something's growing out. Tell me that's normal!"

"It's normal." Mabel stated with a shrug, "It's a lie, but I told you." She made a made like she was ticking something off a checklist, "Challenge completed."

Roxie sniggered, but suddenly it hit her what he'd said. A lot of what had been said lately echoed in her head; _Not human… Creature… Adhene… Manx filth… type of sprite… bright blue things… something's growing out… _

Dipper noticed her quietness, "Roxie, why did you ask what an Adhene was?"

"Uh… that's what Gideon called me… No big deal, right? It doesn't mean anything. He's insane."

"That's a good point." Mabel agreed, "But…"

"Oh not you too," Roxie groaned, "Come on, Mabel, I was counting on you for some sanity here! But what?"

"But Gideon tends to know a lot about this kind of stuff." She muttered apologetically, "Maybe you were just meant to be this size, all along?"

Sensing that things were going to get really angsty really quickly, Dipper tried to make light of the scene by clearing his throat, "Well, uh, we can get into all that later, I mean, it's not like we're going anywhere… Great."

"Not until after ice-cream anyways." Mabel shrugged, popping another spoonful into her mouth.

Both Roxie and Dipper froze. Mabel suddenly realised that she said and remained perfectly still, eyes presenting a little glint on mischief. The Lilliputian pair exchanged a glance before looking up at their saviour accusingly. "What?" they chorused.

"Uh…" Mabel chuckled nervously, and reaching into her pocket. In her hand, was a small, glimmering gem that looked wonderfully yet tauntingly familiar, "Surprise?" she offered.

They couldn't believe it… Dipper threw his arms out, "Mabel! How long have you had that thing?"

"Oh not that long!" she smirked, "Like a few hours or so…"

"Hours?" he exclaimed.

Roxie shoved him jokingly, "Oh grow up, baby, hours is nothing! Try years!"

Cheeks flaming from frustration, Dipper pinched the bridge of his nose, "And you didn't tell us you had it _earlier _because?"

His twin shrugged, "I kinda wanted to see how long it would take for you to figure it out on your own. Plus when am I ever going to get a chance to see you like that again?"

"Hopefully, never…" he muttered, unwillingly giving her the answer she'd been thinking of.

Mabel chuckled, "Sorry."

Roxie waved her hand dismissively, "Heck, I would have done the same in your position. He's a regular stress head."

"I'm not a stress head!" Dipper snapped, "I just, _grr_, Mabel can you just use that thing already?"

"On both of you?" she asked.

Dipper and Roxie exchanged a look. At this point, Roxie kind of figured that all the accusations against her were starting to come true. Maybe this was what she was meant to be like. Maybe her family had lied to her. And if the accusations were true, then what was there for her out there? No… she knew that she wanted to do, but wasn't sure if she had the strength for it.

"Sure, both." Dipper said suddenly, making her give him a sideways look of confusion.

Mabel beamed and held up the gem to the light, sending out a baby-blue strobe out into the open, "Up, up and away!"

* * *

Roxie angled herself in the bathroom so that she could take a proper look at her scars in the mirror. Wow, she thought, no wonder they hurt, those blue thingies are either veins or… Heck she had no clue what they were, and didn't want to find out. She composed herself, and exited the room, enjoying the light thrill of being able to open the door on her own without being carried or anything. Stairs, one step at a time, not ankle-breaking drop. She hopped off the bottom step and carried on out into the open air. The twins sat on the porch, legs kicked out in the evening sun. She stood before them, kind of regretting what she was about to say.

"I'd better head off before it gets too dark."

Mabel widened her eyes and jumped to her feet, "You're leaving? Already?"

"Yeah, I've got answers to find and let's face it, I've caused you guys enough trouble." She sniggered, "But, I really just want to, you know, thank you."

"Awe you're welcome!" Mabel cackled, lunging forward and locking her friend in an embrace.

"Ouch…"

She retracted in remembrance of the marks, "Sorry! Take two!" She grinned, moving her arms to symbol a movie cut-board and going in for another hug with her arms lowered slightly.

"I'm gonna miss those muffins of yours." Roxie smirked, returning the gesture, "Thanks, Mabel, and make sure Dippy doesn't go getting himself into more trouble, alright?"

"Pfft, who else is going to do it?"

"Hey! I resent that." Dipper objected, getting to his feet and folding his arms.

"There's a shock…" Mabel replied playfully, "And I guess you've already lost the crystal?"

"It's right here actually." He groaned, patting his jacket pocket.

"Yay, point for Dipper!" Mabel clapped.

Roxie laughed and turned to Dipper for his goodbye. After an awkward silence, he extended a hand out for a handshake. She arched an eyebrow, "Grow up, Dippy, you can do better than that."

She took his hand and pulled him in for a hug. Dipper blinked in surprise. This was oddly out of character, he thought, but in truth, he wasn't really complaining. Maybe she was finally starting to get off his case. He lightly returned the gesture and stepped away. As nice as it was to have her not taunting him or giving some sort of snarky quip, her being accommodating was too bizarre. And as much as he wanted to learn more and find out what she was, he knew he couldn't stop her now. Not that he ever could to start with.

"Good luck, out there." He muttered, "And stuff."

"Yeah, I'll look out for that _stuff_." She scoffed, turning to address the pair of them, "Thanks again, for everything."

"We're here all summer so come back whenever." Mabel insisted.

"Or, you know, not." Dipper added with obvious fake scorn, smirking a little.

"I'll keep that in mind." Roxie rolled her eyes, "See you guys around."

They watched as she turned, vanishing off down the footpath that led into the woods, onwards in the direction of the town centre, turning back occasionally to wave a little more before she was actually gone. Mabel caught sight of Dipper placing his hands into his jacket pockets, a glimmer of confusion on his face, and then sigh dejectedly, letting his hands fall to his side.

She smirked, "She took the crystal off you didn't she?"

"Yep." He mumbled.

"You gonna go and get it back?"

A half-smile pulled at his lips, "Nope."

"Think she'll come back for a visit?" At that, he had no answer so instead he just shrugged passively, but not losing the smile. Mabel copied him knowingly, "I hope so too."

* * *

Across the forest, lurking in the mists of his bedroom, Gideon was studying the pages of his own journal in heated fury. _Manx Sprites: Adhene: Elemental fey that dwell deep within the woodland area's. Almost extinct, these creatures are known for their mischievous and trickery nature, appearing as miniaturised humans until the process of puberty beings when they take on fey-like creatures. Note: These creatures are extremely hot-tempered and will not fail to use their abilities against whoever should threaten them. Weakness: Their skin will present a burn-like quality when in close contact with copper or iron; cannot resist the call of a whistle made of such objects. Use wisely. _

Gideon sneered maliciously, "Oh you run and play now, adhene, but playtime won't last forever. And goes your you too, Pines Family, that goes for you too…"

**A/N:**

**So what do you guys think? Thanks for all the reviews you've given me and I love you guys for it, you're all awesome and I love ya! You've been awesome! XD**

**So now I ask, should there be a sequel? If not, fair enough, I had fun writing this and it was a good run XD But still, what's Gideon planning? What's Roxie planning? What's happening to her? What will the twins get up to in the meantime? What adventures will they have? And what will happen if Roxie comes back? Well, I don't know yet, but if a sequel is in high enough demand, I can cook something up XD**

**Thanks again guys, you've been great readers! XD **


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